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Amanda Knox spent nearly four years in prison and eight years on trial for a murder she didn’t commit—and became a notorious tabloid story in the process. Though she was exonerated, it’s taken more than a decade for her to reclaim her identity and truly feel free.
Free recounts how Knox survived incarceration, the mistakes she made and misadventures she had reintegrating into society, and culminates in the untold story of her return to Italy and the extraordinary relationship she’s built with the man who sent her to prison. It is the gripping saga of what happens when you become the definition of notorious but have quietly returned to the matters of a normal life—seeking a life partner, finding a job, or even just going out in public. In harrowing (and hilarious) detail, Amanda reveals her personal growth and hard-fought wisdom, recasting her public reckoning as a private reflection on the search for meaning and purpose that will speak to everyone persevering through hardship. PREORDER NOW |
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In Waiting to Be Heard, Amanda Knox gives an unflinching and deeply personal account of her harrowing experience, from the devastation of her friend’s murder to the series of mistakes and misunderstandings that led to her arrest. She speaks intimately about what it was like, at the age of twenty, to find herself imprisoned in a foreign country for a crime she did not commit and demonized by the international media, and about the impact on her family and loved ones as they traveled back and forth to be at her side so that she would not be alone. Get a signed copy! A soul-bearing account of a nightmare turned real, of unimaginable horror and the miscarriage of justice that ensued, and, ultimately, of fortitude in the face of overwhelming adversity, Waiting to Be Heard is a memoir unlike any you have ever read. "[Knox] conveys her emotions with considerable visceral power" — Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times |
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What If He Actually Did It? (The Atlantic)
Amanda argued that Jens Söring was wrongfully convicted of a double murder, and in 2019, he was released on parole after three decades in prison. Then she started having doubts about the case. |
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In The Cardio Tesseract, an intimate and playful collaboration, Amanda Knox and Christopher Robinson write alternating love poems in conversation with each other, revealing the dynamics of their private life, their hopes, fears, and dark places, from thoughts of suicide and memories of prison, to dreams of raising children. Love is not static or stable, and in these fluid poems, its evolving and ever-unfinished essence is on full display. "With a formal intelligence and playful fluidity, Amanda Knox and Christopher Robinson take their subject--love--at its most grave and most absurd. It's a marvel to watch their minds dance around each other." — Mary Karr, award-winning poet and bestselling author of The Liars' Club, Lit, and The Art of Memoir. Available from Alephactory Press and Amazon |
oTHER WRITING
Watching Gypsy Rose (The Free Press)
Gypsy Rose Blanchard has served her time, but she’s not yet free. I know what it’s like to emerge into a world that has already decided who you are.
The life I refused to surrender (The Free Press)
In prison, I longed for the future I was meant to live. But it wasn’t until I accepted my fate that I found the strength to carry on.
Amicus Brief to Supreme Court, Ifrah Yassin v Heather Weyker (Supreme Court)
Amanda files this brief to continue her advocacy for those who are wrongfully accused of crimes and to emphasize the importance of holding the government accountable for its abuses of power.
America asked the wrong questions about Brittney Griner (Time)
Brittney Griner is finally home after ten months of captivity in Russia. I’d hoped this would be a moment for uncontroversial celebration.
Everyone’s Biased But Me: Prejudice in Forensic Science - Part 3 (New Thinking)
In the conclusion of her article series on prejudicial forensics science, Amanda Knox reflects on the fallout of Dr. Itiel Dror's work revealing medical examiners' cognitive bias.
Everyone’s Biased But Me: Prejudice in Forensic Science - Part 2 (New Thinking)
In part two of her three-part article on prejudicial forensics science, Amanda Knox details the controversy over Dr. Itiel Dror's research on medical examiners' cognitive bias.
Everyone’s Biased But Me: Prejudice in Forensic Science - Part 1 (New Thinking)
Drawing on her own experience with wrongful imprisonment, Amanda Knox reflects on Dr. Itiel Dror's work on cognitive bias in forensic science.
Patrolling the Trolls: The Sorry State of Reporting Online Abuse (New Thinking)
Long before the public saw any evidence, long before I had a chance to defend myself in court, I had become a magnet for hate.
I feel for Depp and Heard - I know what it's like to have the public decide you're guilty (The Independent)
I am still dealing with the psychological trauma of the public shaming I’ve endured.
Ghislaine Maxwell, Elizabeth Holmes and Me (The Free Press)
Amanda Knox on why we can't look away from female villains.
Sentenced to infertility (Oprah Daily)
When Amanda Knox was wrongfully convicted of killing her roommate by an Italian court, she faced not just the loss of her freedom but also that of her childbearing years. Here, she sheds light on this punishment that outlasts a sentence and uniquely affects women.
This is how I'll tell my daughter my life story (The Independent)
From a young age she will know that her mom belongs to a special tribe: the wrongfully convicted
Who owns Amanda Knox? (The Atlantic)
Fourteen years ago I was wrongfully convicted of murdering my roommate. Ever since, the world has believed it can tell me who I really am.
He Killed My Roommate, Blamed Me, Now He's Free (Medium)
It has been my fate to bear the infamy of Meredith Kercher’s tragic death, an infamy that belongs to her forgotten killer: Rudy Guede
The Art of Being Lost (Forge / Medium)
What my wrongful murder conviction showed me about how to get through 2020.
True crime fails when it treats trauma as entertainment. But there's a better way. (NBCNews.com)
The way to understand why justice goes awry is with compassion and humility. I learned this lesson from being on the wrong side of bad storytelling, but you don't have to.
Your Content, My Life (GEN / Medium)
Eight years after my release from an Italian prison, I’m still someone else’s story.
What I Learned Meeting Other Women Villainized by the Media (VICE)
The women you see on SLR—whether survivors of sexual assault, online abuse, or slut-shaming—all have one common denominator: we had our truth taken from us, our identities distorted and vilified. Even though some of our cases may seem extreme, most women have experienced some level of shame, mockery, or abuse due solely to their gender. It’s my hope that sharing stories like these enable us to reclaim the narratives of our own lives, and find comfort in other women’s strength and resilience. I don’t ever want anyone to feel isolated the way I did, and I also know that when we listen to each other’s stories with compassion and context, we also come much closer to actually understanding the truth.
Amanda Knox Speaks Out About Being Targeted by the Media (Marie Claire)
"Stereotypes delegitimize our victimhood and only serve to reinforce the power that actual predators, like Weinstein, still have."
Mourning Meredith (Westside Seattle)
Ten years ago tonight, my friend was raped and murdered by a burglar when she was home alone in the apartment we shared while studying abroad in Perugia, Italy.
Why We Love to Hate ‘Trainwreck’ Women (VICE)
in honor of the reissue of sady doyle’s “trainwreck,” knox talks with doyle about why we “wreck people because they are women.”
The same habit of mind that seeks to punish derailed celebrities and project evil onto political opponents and public figures also leads to wrongful convictions like mine. It encourages judgment by projection and popularity, and it obstructs our ability to evaluate context and objective evidence.
Michelle Carter Deserves Sympathy and Help, not Prison (LA Times)
Involuntary manslaughter is when a drunk driver crashes into another vehicle, when a gunman shoots at tin cans in his suburban backyard, when a carnival ride operator fails to ensure that all passengers are strapped in, and as a result an innocent person dies. Encouraging your boyfriend to follow through with his own death wish should not qualify. Carter may not be innocent in a moral or philosophical sense, but she was wrongfully convicted.
How Prisons Use Cult Tactics to Brainwash Inmates into Religion (VICE)
Atheism, agnosticism, and secular humanism were not accepted as rehabilitative ideologies by the Villa’s counselors. McKibben says they considered her refusal to acknowledge a higher power as symptomatic of “the alcoholic mind.” As a result, McKibben lived in terror of being sent back to jail. “There was a lot of fear, because if you do one thing wrong, you’re back in jail,” she explained. “If you don’t like the program they send you to, then the other option is jail.”
Donald Trump Supported Me when I Was Wrongly Accused of Murder. What Do I Owe Him? (LA Times)
There is a kind of loyalty I wholeheartedly support: loyalty to our ideals of due process, equal protection under the law, the freedom to speak one’s mind and to vote according to one’s principles. Only in banana republics do political leaders dole out favors to citizens in exchange for their silence and their vote. By holding personal loyalty above all else, Trump and some of his supporters create a political environment where reason and justice hold little sway. He was probably right when he said he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and not “lose voters” — that’s what happens when personal loyalty is paramount.
What Romance in Prison Actually Looks Like (VICE)
At least initially, Leny* might not have been trying to seduce me, and was actually just in need of someone kind to distract her from her loneliness. This is common. Contrary to what you might guess, many prison relationships aren’t about sex – just like most relationships outside prison.
Why Do Innocent Women Confess to Crimes they Didn’t Commit? (VICE)
Women are raised under a different social incentive structure than men, where attitudes of compliance and deference to authority are more encouraged. This finds its most damning realization in the interrogation room, a situation designed to amplify the absolute control and authority of investigators—an experience I know only too well.
Exoneration is Just the Beginning (USA Today)
To recognize the suffering of exonerees is to acknowledge that our justice system, and the people who implement it, may perpetrate injustice. It’s easier to believe that wrongful conviction is a distant anomaly, an unfortunate consequence triggered by questionable characters. We blame the wrongfully convicted for seeming suspicious just as we blame rape victims for wearing provocative clothing.
Keep Fighting for your Innocence (CNN)
The first time I attended the Innocence Network Conference in 2014, I had to be coaxed into going...the notoriety of my case made me feel claustrophobic.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard has served her time, but she’s not yet free. I know what it’s like to emerge into a world that has already decided who you are.
The life I refused to surrender (The Free Press)
In prison, I longed for the future I was meant to live. But it wasn’t until I accepted my fate that I found the strength to carry on.
Amicus Brief to Supreme Court, Ifrah Yassin v Heather Weyker (Supreme Court)
Amanda files this brief to continue her advocacy for those who are wrongfully accused of crimes and to emphasize the importance of holding the government accountable for its abuses of power.
America asked the wrong questions about Brittney Griner (Time)
Brittney Griner is finally home after ten months of captivity in Russia. I’d hoped this would be a moment for uncontroversial celebration.
Everyone’s Biased But Me: Prejudice in Forensic Science - Part 3 (New Thinking)
In the conclusion of her article series on prejudicial forensics science, Amanda Knox reflects on the fallout of Dr. Itiel Dror's work revealing medical examiners' cognitive bias.
Everyone’s Biased But Me: Prejudice in Forensic Science - Part 2 (New Thinking)
In part two of her three-part article on prejudicial forensics science, Amanda Knox details the controversy over Dr. Itiel Dror's research on medical examiners' cognitive bias.
Everyone’s Biased But Me: Prejudice in Forensic Science - Part 1 (New Thinking)
Drawing on her own experience with wrongful imprisonment, Amanda Knox reflects on Dr. Itiel Dror's work on cognitive bias in forensic science.
Patrolling the Trolls: The Sorry State of Reporting Online Abuse (New Thinking)
Long before the public saw any evidence, long before I had a chance to defend myself in court, I had become a magnet for hate.
I feel for Depp and Heard - I know what it's like to have the public decide you're guilty (The Independent)
I am still dealing with the psychological trauma of the public shaming I’ve endured.
Ghislaine Maxwell, Elizabeth Holmes and Me (The Free Press)
Amanda Knox on why we can't look away from female villains.
Sentenced to infertility (Oprah Daily)
When Amanda Knox was wrongfully convicted of killing her roommate by an Italian court, she faced not just the loss of her freedom but also that of her childbearing years. Here, she sheds light on this punishment that outlasts a sentence and uniquely affects women.
This is how I'll tell my daughter my life story (The Independent)
From a young age she will know that her mom belongs to a special tribe: the wrongfully convicted
Who owns Amanda Knox? (The Atlantic)
Fourteen years ago I was wrongfully convicted of murdering my roommate. Ever since, the world has believed it can tell me who I really am.
He Killed My Roommate, Blamed Me, Now He's Free (Medium)
It has been my fate to bear the infamy of Meredith Kercher’s tragic death, an infamy that belongs to her forgotten killer: Rudy Guede
The Art of Being Lost (Forge / Medium)
What my wrongful murder conviction showed me about how to get through 2020.
True crime fails when it treats trauma as entertainment. But there's a better way. (NBCNews.com)
The way to understand why justice goes awry is with compassion and humility. I learned this lesson from being on the wrong side of bad storytelling, but you don't have to.
Your Content, My Life (GEN / Medium)
Eight years after my release from an Italian prison, I’m still someone else’s story.
What I Learned Meeting Other Women Villainized by the Media (VICE)
The women you see on SLR—whether survivors of sexual assault, online abuse, or slut-shaming—all have one common denominator: we had our truth taken from us, our identities distorted and vilified. Even though some of our cases may seem extreme, most women have experienced some level of shame, mockery, or abuse due solely to their gender. It’s my hope that sharing stories like these enable us to reclaim the narratives of our own lives, and find comfort in other women’s strength and resilience. I don’t ever want anyone to feel isolated the way I did, and I also know that when we listen to each other’s stories with compassion and context, we also come much closer to actually understanding the truth.
Amanda Knox Speaks Out About Being Targeted by the Media (Marie Claire)
"Stereotypes delegitimize our victimhood and only serve to reinforce the power that actual predators, like Weinstein, still have."
Mourning Meredith (Westside Seattle)
Ten years ago tonight, my friend was raped and murdered by a burglar when she was home alone in the apartment we shared while studying abroad in Perugia, Italy.
Why We Love to Hate ‘Trainwreck’ Women (VICE)
in honor of the reissue of sady doyle’s “trainwreck,” knox talks with doyle about why we “wreck people because they are women.”
The same habit of mind that seeks to punish derailed celebrities and project evil onto political opponents and public figures also leads to wrongful convictions like mine. It encourages judgment by projection and popularity, and it obstructs our ability to evaluate context and objective evidence.
Michelle Carter Deserves Sympathy and Help, not Prison (LA Times)
Involuntary manslaughter is when a drunk driver crashes into another vehicle, when a gunman shoots at tin cans in his suburban backyard, when a carnival ride operator fails to ensure that all passengers are strapped in, and as a result an innocent person dies. Encouraging your boyfriend to follow through with his own death wish should not qualify. Carter may not be innocent in a moral or philosophical sense, but she was wrongfully convicted.
How Prisons Use Cult Tactics to Brainwash Inmates into Religion (VICE)
Atheism, agnosticism, and secular humanism were not accepted as rehabilitative ideologies by the Villa’s counselors. McKibben says they considered her refusal to acknowledge a higher power as symptomatic of “the alcoholic mind.” As a result, McKibben lived in terror of being sent back to jail. “There was a lot of fear, because if you do one thing wrong, you’re back in jail,” she explained. “If you don’t like the program they send you to, then the other option is jail.”
Donald Trump Supported Me when I Was Wrongly Accused of Murder. What Do I Owe Him? (LA Times)
There is a kind of loyalty I wholeheartedly support: loyalty to our ideals of due process, equal protection under the law, the freedom to speak one’s mind and to vote according to one’s principles. Only in banana republics do political leaders dole out favors to citizens in exchange for their silence and their vote. By holding personal loyalty above all else, Trump and some of his supporters create a political environment where reason and justice hold little sway. He was probably right when he said he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and not “lose voters” — that’s what happens when personal loyalty is paramount.
What Romance in Prison Actually Looks Like (VICE)
At least initially, Leny* might not have been trying to seduce me, and was actually just in need of someone kind to distract her from her loneliness. This is common. Contrary to what you might guess, many prison relationships aren’t about sex – just like most relationships outside prison.
Why Do Innocent Women Confess to Crimes they Didn’t Commit? (VICE)
Women are raised under a different social incentive structure than men, where attitudes of compliance and deference to authority are more encouraged. This finds its most damning realization in the interrogation room, a situation designed to amplify the absolute control and authority of investigators—an experience I know only too well.
Exoneration is Just the Beginning (USA Today)
To recognize the suffering of exonerees is to acknowledge that our justice system, and the people who implement it, may perpetrate injustice. It’s easier to believe that wrongful conviction is a distant anomaly, an unfortunate consequence triggered by questionable characters. We blame the wrongfully convicted for seeming suspicious just as we blame rape victims for wearing provocative clothing.
Keep Fighting for your Innocence (CNN)
The first time I attended the Innocence Network Conference in 2014, I had to be coaxed into going...the notoriety of my case made me feel claustrophobic.