Cleveland Kidnapping Survivor Michelle Knight Talks About 'New Beginnings'

Kidnapping Survivor Says She's Distanced Herself From Other Captives

In new interviews, Cleveland kidnapping survivor Michelle Knight says she's experiencing a "new beginning" and also explained why she and the other victims have been spending more time apart.

"Sometimes in life you have a dark past that makes you who you are but it doesn't define who you are,"Knight, who now goes by Lily Rose Lee, told NBC's "Today." "It just makes you stronger."

Knight also explained why she recently changed her name.

"I felt like every brand new start needs new beginnings," she said. "My name is Lily Rose Lee."

She also told People magazine that she and the other kidnapping survivors have spent more time apart during their healing process.

"I love them and they love me," she said. "Hopefully we'll all get back together again."

The 33-year-old has a new book called "Finding Me," which will be released on Tuesday.

She and Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Berry's daughter were rescued from Ariel Castro's house on May 6 of last year.

Castro was sentenced to life without parole and was found dead in his cell from an apparent suicide in September.

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3 Missing Cleveland Women FOUND

3 Missing Cleveland Women Found

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