I loved this and could barely put it down. Amanda Knox has been through a lot, and almost everyone (whether they've thought about it or not) has had their opinion of her skewed in some way by media coverage. But here, she does a great job of showing how "Amanda Knox, Public Figure" is very different than Just Amanda, the actual person.

I was only peripherally aware of Knox's criminal case between her arrest in 2007 and release from prison in 2011, but I remember thinking that while on the one hand the media coverage seemed unfairly salacious, on the other hand surely she wouldn't have been suspected, let alone convicted, if there hadn't been some sort of evidence?! and having that "did she or didn't she?" feeling when her face popped up in the news. I haven't read her previous book, Waiting to Be Heard, which was written and published directly in the wake of her release from prison, but I did watch the 2016 documentary, which for me definitively underpinned her innocence. Amanda Knox came off as a regular girl with whom I could even be friends. The Italian police, especially prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, came off as delusional weirdos who had clearly seen far too many giallo movies.

In Free, after many more years of life experience and reflection, Knox discusses Rudy Guede's murder of Meredith Kercher (which set into motion the infamous chain of events) and her own time in prison but focuses more on the details of her life since then. This life has of course been marked by her notoriety, and the constant dance between public and private selves. Knox discusses her social and dating life, her involvement with the Innocence Project and other advocacy work, her journey towards parenthood, and most surprisingly of all, her evolving relationship to Giuliano Mignini.

Knox has been through a pretty unique experience, but has gained insights that can universally help people navigate life, and is generous in sharing them. She's also a brilliant writer. I look forward to seeing what she does next, if she chooses to share that too -- not because it's actually any of my business or because I enjoy seeing her face pop up in the news, but because I'm rooting for her success and happiness. For instance, I bet if she wrote a novel it would be amazing.

If you've followed Amanda Knox's story over the years, "Free: My Search for Meaning" is worth a read - but check your expectations. This isn't a true crime tell-all. It's a reflective memoir that walks through Knox's life before, during, and after the media circus, focusing more on meaning and identity than facts and timelines.

Knox writes candidly about her time in prison, the years of retrials, and being known as "Foxy Knoxy" around the world. Her face-to-face meeting with the very prosecutor who helped derail her life, many years after the trial, was a particular highlight for me.

It's not a fast-paced read - I put it down a lot - but her introspectiveness pulled me back in time after time. If you're looking for insight rather than new evidence, this quiet, thoughtful memoir might be your next read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

📖 Free: My Search for Meaning by Amanda Knox 📖⁣
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⁣Amanda Knox is back again— this time writing about her life after being freed from prison in Italy. She’s a gifted writer and mostly focuses on her quest for forgiveness. I struggled to get through this book and it felt much longer than 300 pages. The pacing was off and it seemed like she repeated the same ideas over and over. ⁣
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⁣Parts of this one with interesting, but other parts were incredibly hard to read. When she returned to Italy to meet with the man who persecuted her, my entire body cringed. If I was her, I’m not sure I’d ever leave the United States again! ⁣
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⁣All in all, this was okay. I’d only recommend it if you were interested in Knox’s story. Three stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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⁣Thank you to @netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of Free. It is out now!

Amanda Knox’s new book, Free, offers an insightful and personal reflection on her life after being acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher. The book provides readers with an intimate look at her journey from being a convicted criminal in the public eye to becoming a symbol of justice and the complexities of the legal system.

Knox's writing is candid and eloquent, giving us a glimpse into the emotional and psychological toll her years of incarceration and trial took on her. She writes with a clear sense of vulnerability, sharing both the trauma of being wrongfully convicted and the ongoing struggle to reclaim her identity in a world that continually questions her innocence. Her ability to reflect on the nuances of the media’s portrayal of her and the impact it had on her life is one of the strengths of the book.

Free is a thought-provoking read for those interested in understanding Amanda Knox’s emotional and psychological journey post-trial. It’s an honest account of resilience and the search for peace as she continues her life.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Knox's writing style is boring and hard to follow. The book is divided into chapters where another story is told about her life either before Italy or after. I feel like most of the information she provided has already been said before.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of FREE by Amanda Knox.

This book is incredibly insightful and beautifully written. I was amazed by the life lessons Knox was able to glean from her experiences and, in turn, share with readers. I initially picked up the book to learn more about a story that dominated the news for years, but I came away with so much more—deep insights on life, the power of forgiveness, and the realization that we have the ability to choose freedom, no matter our circumstances.

This was an interesting take on the entire situation that occurred with her. I thought there was some interesting information that was shared that I had no clue about. Along with the fact that there was things that were never made public made me want to keep reading. It is hard to read one of these type of books cause are you really hearing the truth or just one side of a partial truth. I want to believe everything she says but it is hard just from knowing about this case in general.

I have been interested in the Amanda Knox case for a while and this gave me a lot of insight into it.

Wow! I remember Seeing all of the news postings, interviews and tv shows all made around 'Foxy Knoxy'. I always Love hearing people in the spotlight for something negative, turn it into something good. I love How vulnerable Amanda was with her feelings and anxiety. She overcomes her fear of being free/having freedom after prison. So many great things to say about this book! Thank you for sharing your life Amanda!

“Free” is the second book from Amanda Knox, the American woman wrongly convicted of her roommate’s murder while studying abroad in Italy in the mid ‘00s.

In her first book, published in 2013, she tells the story of her fight for justice. This book touches a little on that, starting off with stories of her time in jail in Italy. But it’s more about the aftermath, her life after returning home to America.

I saw a TV interview Amanda gave where she said this book “didn’t need to be written” or something like that. And I would agree. It felt like something she wrote to provide catharsis for her and her family. As a reader, I’m not sure what I got out of it. The promotions put a lot of emphasis on the relationship she works to build with the man who prosecuted and wrongly convicted her. But that only happens in the last 15% of the book. The rest of it feels a little meandering.

Amanda is an unusual person who still seems to be coming out the other side of a struggle with PTSD. Maybe it’s a struggle she’ll face for the rest of her life. And her experience is so unique and her personality a little unusual, making it hard to fully connect with her in this book.

I really love a depressing memoir, but I couldn’t connect with Amanda’s story. That said, if you are a Dateline fan who always wonders how people turn out 10+ years after they’re in the spotlight for the worst moment of their lives, you may enjoy this book. Regardless, I’m rooting for Amanda and other wrongly convicted men and women. I hope they find the peace they deserve.

As someone who is extremely passionate about the innocence project, restorative justice initiatives, and abolishment of the death penalty, this book struck an unexpected chord in me. Amanda is an engaging writer and engages in conceptualizing her experiences through the lens of a variety of philosophical lens. Many people do not spend a long time thinking about how we are only one incident away from the criminal justice system, and I think Amanda has incredibly valuable insights into how our social narrative about criminal justice, guilt, and punishment have long and spiraling impacts. The part of this book that most resonated with me was actually the chapter on the women of ill respite, she so beautifully articulated a lot of the complex feelings about how the media has eviscerated women in way that is uniquely critical and cruel. I also really enjoyed the commentary about victimhood, and her final thoughts about Meredith. Overall, I think this was a valuable contribution outside of the typical true crime genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

Amanda Knox is just a couple years younger than me and I remember hearing about her arrest and conviction when it originally happened. I remembered hearing that she had been acquitted, but had not heard anything else about her in years. I few months ago I heard a podcast interview of Amanda and I first heard about this book. I found her book truly fascinating. It was devastating to learn about injustice that Amanda went through, and yet inspiring to learn about the steps she's taken to help others and heal herself. If you are in any way interested in stories about those who have been wrongly convicted, I think you will really enjoy this book!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I've always been intrigued by stories of young women who stumbled into big, public, messy, damning, life-altering situations and live to tell about it. Knox's resilience and bravery put her in a unique position to share her tips and insights on living a meaningful life and staying sane in intensely stressful situations. I didn't read her first book, but I think this new memoir Free gives just enough background on her case that readers don't necessarily need to go back and read the first book before diving in.

In this book, I liked how she pulled from the wisdom of various individuals and traditions, centered around the theme of freedom. Now that she is older, has children of her own, and is safely out of legal peril in Italy, Knox has the space and distance to center herself and help others. I think this book will be quite inspiring to people looking to find their way in a complicated and often painful world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the gifted eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

2 stars
Thank you netgalley for the chance to review
I, like so many other people my age, was completely transfixed by the Amanda Knox story, and therefore was really looking forward on a book that focused much more on her and less on her case. Don't get me wrong, I like true crime, but this sort of introspective view was way more up my alley. Only issue I found was it was TOO introspective...the chapters really dragged on and became repetitive. I loved some of her stories, but I found myself at the halfway point skimming to find juicy nuggets and coming up relatively empty.

This book was an interesting exploration of freedom/life after prison and an indictment of the media. I won't question Amanda's lived experience but at times it was very "woe is me" when she was the one putting herself out there as a public figure (but simultaneously saying she wanted privacy from the media attention).

Some parts about her healing journey and especially her relationship with her former prosecutor were very interesting.

As much as I loved this, and its message, I wish it didn't exist. Knox's repeated statement that she should've never been the narrative but a footnote resonates with me so hard. I hope that the more she shares her perspectives on peace and freedom, the more she does in fact impact the way cases are covered. Literally read an article this morning about a missing college student and thought completely differently about how the case and the person of interest were covered. That's impact.

This book goes more into her experience in prison and the impact it had on her mind and sense of self, the way she learned to survive, and especially how she learned to survive without losing her values. Then it's her choices after her release, where the prison is her mind and media, and the ways she both failed and succeeded in building a life for herself After.

While we share perspectives on kindness, her capacity for forgiveness is unmatched. Her capacity to demonstrate empathy for the people obsessed with her for good or ill, and the way she can think and logic her way out of it, are a reassuring perspective in strange and uncertain times.

I hope she keeps writing - not about her case, I think that can be laid to rest - but about survival, well-being, kindness, and incarceration.

Amanda’s experience and case have always fascinated me— we are exactly the same age and I remember very specifically immediately thinking that if this was two guy roommates and one of them was in a casual hook up relationship with someone while the other was randomly murdered NO ONE would bat an eye… but because Amanda was a FEMALE experiencing a healthy and NORMAL stage of curiosity and development in her young ADULT life she was vilified and sexualized beyond reproach by the Italian government, and the world. This was both a powerful and important piece of her journey and healing… proud of her.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

I have followed Amanda Knox since the beginning so I knew I wanted to read her latest memoir. I especially enjoy reading a memoir that has allowed some time for reflection on a life lived. Nonetheless, I felt like Amanda Knox was out to fix her image. She was trying too hard to be understood and liked and it shined through in her writing. I was hoping I would have more compassion for her through reading this but I just find her to be a bit unlikable. Good for her for continuing to grow and reflect.

While I feel for the girl, as soon as she said this book was about her buddist awakening I was out. While interested in her life after the drama, I think a podcast would be sufficient rather than reading a whole book.

I am about the same age as Amanda Knox, and while I remember the news about her arrest and trial, it was never a story I researched with much thought. Which in a way, is what this book is about. Regarding hearing of the case - Amanda was just a normal, unknown college student when, due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time, she became an international media sensation - she didn't do anything do become a household name. It is an awful experience for anyone, but I am grateful to learn more about it first hand from someone so insightful and talented. Regarding bothering to learn what was really going on - shame on me. But much much much more shame on the media. All I remember is the accounts of her as a sexual deviant, I can't even remember if I thought she was guilty or not. Why wasn't I interested? If I had thought she was innocent, why wasn't I outraged?

I read Free without having read her first memoir, Waiting to be Heard, which I regret. This story is not about the crime or the trial, it is about her time in prison, her time trying to reclaim her life after being released, and her relationship to the man who worked so hard to convict her. She allows the reader to get to know her as a real person, and I personally found her to present as a person worth knowing. I am looking forward to reading her first book.

Beyond her personal feelings, the book has deeper themes such as how to be more than the worst thing that has happened to you and how to fight for justice in a world which was so unjust to you. It is a startling reminder that the hell she went through happened to an ordinary woman and that in some ways we are all one day away from having life as we know it taken from us.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, Amanda Knox, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.