Finding Me By Michelle Knight Analysis

After learning about a multitude of different trauma types and responses to trauma, I do not think I have heard any story comparable to that of Michelle Knight, author of Finding Me—an incredibly inspiring narrative capturing the horrific details of her kidnapping and subsequent torture for over a decade. Despite the very deep physical and emotional scars Ariel Castro inflicted on Michelle (and the other two women who were kidnapped), she transformed her experiences into this fantastic piece of writing that offers hope to anyone in the darkest of days. Michelle already had a tough life; growing up, her family was poor and by 17 she was a single mother. Her family was also abusive—in fact, her mother’s boyfriend at the time broke her son Joey’s leg right in front of her. Social services found out about the abuse as well as the other poor living conditions and Michelle’s baby was taken into foster
Despite being raped by a family member from a young age, having lived in a car and in a garbage can under a bridge, and being manipulated by an older student to have sex (eventually leading to having her kid), she responded well to the ten years of hell. Maybe it can be explained because she got used to trauma; after never catching a break in her life, maybe it just felt nice being free after getting saved. It was truly the first time in her life that she was not controlled by others in some way; she could finally make her own life decisions and live in her own, safe home. Michelle’s story is incredible not only because she survived ten years of awful treatment, but even more so because she bounced back stronger than ever and turned her potential weaknesses into hope. I wish everyone who has gone through something tough would follow Michelle’s example and turn their experiences into knowledge, helping others up along the way who