Michelle Knight was the first woman to be kidnapped and held against her will by Ariel Castro. In the weeks following her escape from the Cleveland House of Horrors where she and two other women were held, she took the opportunity to be very vocal about her ordeal. And now she’s writing a book.
During the sentencing, the prosecutor revealed that each woman abducted — 32-year-old Knight, as well as Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry — kept a diary while she was imprisoned by Castro. But Knight has been in the spotlight a bit more than the other two ladies; in a video statement released in July, of the three women who thanked the public for support, Knight was the one who spoke the most.
Galleycat reports that Knight has inked a deal with Weinstein Books.
In the book, which has yet to be titled, Knight will tell the story of her early life, her abduction and the present day. The story will include details about spending a year alone, before the other women were abducted, as well as how they escaped. The book is slated for publication in Spring 2014.
Obviously Knight endured a devastating, life-changing experience. In her courtroom statement (which you can watch here), she described it as “11 years in hell.” But it sounds as though this book will be inspirational. “I want to give every victim of violence a new outlook on life,” explains Knight in a press release. And:
“Victims need to know that no matter how hard it rains in the darkness, they will have the strength and courage that God gave them when they were born to rise above and overcome any obstacle that stands in their way. If you hold your head up high and have your feet firmly on the ground, you won’t let hell consume or define how you feel inside. We shall define ourselves not as victims but as victors, and this will lead us to peace.”