Lauren Book is a best-selling author and internationally renowned child advocate; she was a victim and is now a survivor of child sexual abuse. Because of her experience, Book founded Lauren’s Kids along with her father, Ronald Book, in 2007. Under Ms. Book’s leadership, the nonprofit organization works to create a world where the exploitation of children is not tolerated. Over her years of service to victims of abuse, Lauren and her father have passed numerous Florida laws to protect victims and end the cycle of future abuse including the nation’s toughest mandatory reporting laws, child safety zones and ending the Statute of Limitations for prosecution of sexual crimes committed against children. Every year, Book walks the state of Florida to raise awareness about sexual abuse and to allow survivors an outlet to speak out about their experiences.
In addition to her advocacy work, Book is committed to empowering children to protect themselves against abuse by teaching in-school curricula that provide children with the necessary tools to act as the first line of defense against abuse.
Book is also an accomplished author, chronicling her years of abuse in her memoir, It’s OK to Tell, which sheds light on the truth about abuse and the healing journey that a victim goes through to become a survivor. Her most recent book, Lauren’s Kingdom, is a children’s picture book that imparts this important lesson to children: “If you’re choking back tears and your heart’s full of fears, you know very well, it’s OK to tell.”
As an internationally renowned spokesperson, Book is an advocate for change and regularly comments on breaking national news. Book has been featured on hundreds of news outlets including Our America with Lisa Ling on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, the Associated Press, ABC News, Al Jazeera, NPR, Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell on CNN’s HLN, Maria Shriver Architects of Change, the Huffington Post and Cosmopolitan Magazine.
Book was born and raised in South Florida where she currently resides and directs Lauren’s Kids. Lauren graduated from the University of Miami with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Creative Writing and a master’s degree in Community Psychology and Social Change.
She is one of 42 million survivors of child sexual abuse living in the U.S. today.