“We’ve had a life before, and will have a life after, our assaults.”

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. She reported the assault to the police and testified against her attacker in court. After receiving backlash from her once-trusted school community, she shed her anonymity to help other survivors find their voice. 

In this interview, Chessy discusses the book that was born from her trauma.

Chessy‘s memoir, I Have The Right To, is the powerful true story of a young woman’s survival, advocacy, and hope in the face of unspeakable trauma. Offering solutions to upend rape culture, holding institutions that turn a blind eye to sexual assault accountable, and confronting a society that blames victims rather than perpetrators, I Have The Right To is a book of bravery.

Click here to read more and sample the audiobook, which she powerfully narrates.