In 2007, Amanda Knox, then a 20-year-old college student, made headlines when she became the focus of a murder investigation. Knox’s roommate, 21-year-old British exchange student Meredith Kercher, was found dead in their apartment, partially undressed and with her throat slit, while the two were studying abroad in Italy. Knox and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, are accused of killing Kercher as part of a sex game gone wrong. Knox was arrested and faces trial in an Italian court. She was initially found guilty of murder and spent four years in an Italian prison until her conviction was overturned in 2011. Although Knox returned to the United States, she was retried and convicted again before being acquitted by the Italian Supreme Court in 2015. Now Knox is set to release a new book about her experiences, which PEOPLE can exclusively reveal. Free: My Search for Meaning will be published in 2025 by Grand Central Publishing, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.
‘Free: My Search for Meaning’ by Amanda Knox.
Jacket design by Caitlin Sacks/@Grand Central Publishing
IN FreeKnox will recount her experience while in prison, as well as the process of reintegration into society after her release, according to the book’s synopsis. The book will also tell untold stories, such as Knox’s return to Italy, as well as the relationship she formed with the man who sent her to prison. The book, however, will largely share Knox’s personal growth and “search for meaning and purpose.” “When my roommate, Meredith, was brutally raped and murdered, I should have been a footnote in the her tragic story,” Knox says in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “Instead, at the age of 20, I was accused of a horrific crime I had nothing to do with and catapulted into international infamy. After I was freed, I was faced with an impossible question: What now? I could never go back to being an anonymous student. I was the girl accused of murder.”
A brief guide to the legal saga of Amanda Knox
“I was trapped in that story. I didn’t feel free. It took me more than a decade, but I slowly learned to find meaning in my misfortune,” the author continues. “I created my own freedom. It has been said that pain is inevitable, but suffering is a choice. Free is a guide to making that choice and making that choice count – in my life and in yours. Because my circumstances may be extraordinary, but the challenges I faced are universal.”
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Amanda Knox.
Patrik Andersson
Knox, now an advocate for criminal justice reform, is also the author of the 2013 best-selling memoir. I am waiting to be heardand is a co-host Labyrinths podcast with her husband Christopher Robinson.
In June 2024, it was announced that Tell me lies actress Grace Van Patten will play Knox in an upcoming Hulu limited series based on Knox’s story; Margaret Qualley was originally slated to play the role, but left the project due to scheduling conflicts. Knox and Monica Lewinksy will executive produce the series.Freedescribed by the publisher as “harrowing (and sometimes hilarious)”, it aims to be a book that “will speak to all who persevere through hardship”.
Never miss a story — subscribe to PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. “Grand Central is thrilled to publish this deeply inspiring book,” said Colin Dickerman, senior vice president and editor-in-chief of Grand Central Publishing, in a statement. “Amanda Knox is a first-rate writer and a wonderful thinker, and anyone who has struggled with finding their place in the world will find deep comfort in these pages.”Free: My Search for Meaning will be published on March 25, 2025 and is available for pre-order now, wherever books are sold.
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Source: HIS Education