( CNN ) -- First , Michelle Knight heard pounding on the door . Then , there was silence . A year later , she still remembers the dread she felt that day . Rescuers were banging on the door after learning Knight and fellow captive Georgina `` Gina '' DeJesus were trapped inside . But Knight and DeJesus did n't know the police were coming . `` For me it was the most awesome day ever . But it was also terrifying at the same time , because me and Gina actually thought someone was breaking in , '' Knight told CNN 's Anderson Cooper in an interview that aired Wednesday . `` We laugh about it now . '' But at the time , it was anything but funny . The two women huddled in their boarded-up bedroom , afraid burglars were coming for them , Knight said . That terror turned to relief , Knight said , when she caught a glimpse of a police badge and heard a police radio . It was n't long before she jumped into the police officer 's arms . `` I ran right into her arms , '' Knight recalled , `` and I literally choked her . ... ( and ) I said , 'Please do n't let me go . Please do n't put me down . ' '' At 32 years old , Knight walked out the front door of 2207 Seymour Avenue for the very first and last time . Knight recalls being Castro 's 'punching bag ' Confrontation in court . For 11 years , Knight was brutally raped and tortured in Ariel Castro 's `` house of horrors . '' Rescuers freed her , along with fellow captives DeJesus and Amanda Berry , a year ago from the Cleveland home , drawing national attention to the horrific case . Knight was rushed to a hospital , where she was treated for a long list of health issues due to the years of beatings and neglect . Although she was free , she was also alone . With no family to speak of , friends or home to go to , she took refuge at an assisted living facility outside Cleveland , where she prepared to face her captor in court . `` After 11 years , I am finally being heard , and it 's liberating , '' she said in a powerful statement at Castro 's sentencing describing the abuse she endured . `` You took 11 years of my life away , and I have got it back . I spent 11 years in hell , and now your hell is just beginning , '' she told Castro . Knight told CNN she was determined to speak out . `` It was important to me to express how I felt about what he did and how he did it and let the judge know that he needed to be punished , '' she said . How Castro lured her to the house . Hope for the future . One year later , Knight is in a very different place . While Berry and DeJesus have largely stayed out of the public eye , Knight has done the opposite -- appearing at public events and writing a book , `` Finding Me , '' in hopes that her experiences will help people know they can survive anything . Castro , the daily devil in these three women 's lives for so long , is now out of the picture . He killed himself in prison last September , just a month into serving his prison sentence of life plus 1,000 years . `` I understand why he did it , '' Knight said . `` He could n't face what he did with his head held high . He had to face it like a coward , 'cause he was ashamed and embarrassed of what he done . And he did n't want what he did to us to happen to him . '' Now , armed with friends and a good support system , Knight said she 's giving a voice to other people who are missing , like she once was . `` I was considered a forgotten one , '' she said . `` That 's a reason why I made a poem and said that all the people that are out there , they 're not forgotten in my eyes . Never . '' And she 's focused on starting over . The past year , she said , has been `` overwhelming but amazing as hell . '' She has changed her name to Lily , after her favorite flower . She 's back in school with the hope of opening her own restaurant . And she 's planning to get a new tattoo with a message of survival : `` God gave us this chosen life because He knew we could handle it . '' After what she 's been through , Knight said there 's nothing she ca n't handle . Berry 's baby delivered by another captive . Michelle Knight recounts her experience to Dr. Phil . CNN 's Greg Botelho and Dana Ford contributed to this report . Watch Anderson Cooper . 360° weeknights 8pm ET . For the latest from AC360° click here .
At first , Michelle Knight said she thought rescuers were burglars . She told police : ` ` Please do n't let me go . Please do n't ` ` Knight tells police her story about the Castro 's suicide . The past year , she says , has been ` ` overwhelming but amazing as ... ''