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About the Book

About the Book

I Have the Right To: A High School Survivor's Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope

A young survivor tells her searing, visceral story of sexual assault, justice and healing in this gutwrenching memoir.

The numbers are staggering: nearly one in five girls ages 14 to 17 have been the victim of a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault. This is the true story of one of those girls.

In 2014, Chessy Prout was a freshman at St. Paul’s School, a prestigious boarding school in New Hampshire, when a senior boy sexually assaulted her as part of a ritualized game of conquest. Chessy bravely reported her assault to the police and testified against her attacker in court. Then, in the face of unexpected backlash from her once-trusted school community, she shed her anonymity to help other survivors find their voice.

This memoir is more than an account of a horrific event. It takes a magnifying glass to the institutions that turn a blind eye to such behavior and a society that blames victims rather than perpetrators. Chessy’s story offers real, powerful solutions to upend rape culture as we know it today. Prepare to be inspired by this remarkable young woman and her story of survival, advocacy and hope in the face of unspeakable trauma.

Audiobook available, read by Chessy Prout

I Have the Right To: A High School Survivor's Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope
by Chessy Prout with Jenn Abelson

  • Publication Date: March 5, 2019
  • Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Young Adult 14+
  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
  • ISBN-10: 1534414444
  • ISBN-13: 9781534414440