A Walk in Her Shoes

This article was originally published on March 27, 2025 BY VALERIE STAGGS Florida Weekly Correspondent on Florida Weekly: Palm Beach Edition

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Ten years ago, former Florida Senator Lauren Book laced up a pair of sneakers and set off across the state of Florida to tell the real story behind childhood sexual abuse. One decade and thousands of miles later, Book has remained an unstoppable voice for education, awareness and prevention of this childhood trauma, which affects 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys.

On April 2, Book will hit the pavement once more for the 10th Annual “Walk in My Shoes” event, a journey that will take her from the southernmost tip of Florida in Key West all the way north to Tallahassee. Along the way, she will be joined by survivors who, like her, carry the trauma of a childhood stolen by a sexual predator.

Watching Book on the floor of the Florida Senate (she served eight years as a state senator, representing parts of Broward County) or on the TED Talk stage, it’s hard to believe that this poised, confident, outgoing woman was once a scared child who endured six years of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her family’s trusted nanny.

Hired by her parents to take care of Book and her two younger siblings, the nanny started abusing her when Book was just 11 years old. The abuse became increasingly violent as she got older. When Book was 17, her boyfriend started noticing her bruises and told her he would tell her father about the nanny if she didn’t. She revealed the abuse to her therapist, who informed her father.

The nanny was convicted and served a 20-year prison sentence, yet the trauma was far from over for Book. In the immediate aftermath of the abuse, she had anorexia and agoraphobia and was self-mutilating.

“I was really struggling,” says Book.

Then, a conversation with her mother lit a fire in her. “My mother came upstairs one day and said, ‘You should be over this. This happens to all girls. This happened to me, and I’m fine,’” recalls Book, whose mother struggled with mental health issues throughout her childhood. “I remember thinking that while I loved my mother very much, she is the farthest thing from fine that I ever want to be. At that day, at that moment, at that time I didn’t know what any of it would look like, but I was going to be vastly different.”

Book made good on her promise to herself, and the magnitude of her accomplishments are a testament to the vastly different life she has built today. In 2007, she founded Lauren’s Kids, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing childhood sexual abuse and helping survivors heal. Through Lauren’s Kids, Book has developed the curriculum “Safer, Smarter Schools K-1,” now used in schools to teach kids critical safety strategies using engaging videos and in-class activities. The program was implemented throughout Florida schools in 2011 and is now in 48 states and used in other countries. Lauren’s Kids also brings elements of the program to youth organizations.

Book regularly hears stories of the impact her curriculum is making. She shares a story of a little girl at a Boys and Girls Club in Gainesville when they were teaching a lesson from the curriculum. Two days later, Book got a call from the CEO of the Child Advocacy Center in Gainesville.

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“She told me there was a little girl there that got the lesson and disclosed that her father was sexually abusing her,” says Book. “She used the same language that we use in the curriculum.”

Anne Elliott, a mental health therapist at Christina’s Courage in Key West, works on the front lines of sexual abuse in her community. Her organization offers a wide range of victim-centered support services for survivors of sexual violence. She says the work that Lauren’s Kids does is vital to organizations like hers that see firsthand the impact of sexual abuse.

“Lauren’s Kids is a stronghold organization in the state of Florida for sexual assault advocacy. They work extremely hard to provide resources, therapy funding, crisis helplines and organize initiatives like “Safer, Smarter Schools” and the “Walk in My Shoes” event. I cannot name another organization that walks an entire state to bring awareness to a cause. This is a true passion of Lauren’s,” says Elliott.

Elliott is looking forward to this year’s “Walk in My Shoes” event kicking off in her community. “This is the largest sexual assault event in the Keys community every year, and it brings together law enforcement, students, our government officials, the whole community,” says Elliott, who stresses that Book’s personal story is also a big part of connecting with the community. “There is a strength in connection with being vulnerable no matter what age you are. This is what Lauren does; she quite literally walks the walk. How can that not shine a brighter light?”

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Book has also added an exciting new element to this year’s walk— friendship bracelets. “Every single organization that is involved in the walk is making bracelets and people have been sending them from all over the country,” says Book. “It’s something really special that you can turn something so horrific into something so beautiful.”

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The bracelets will be distributed at child advocacy centers and sexual assault programs throughout the walk. Organizations have been paired up for a bracelet swap. The Children’s Advocacy Center of Collier County (CAC) in Naples is one of those organizations.

“We’ve had all kinds of people making bracelets,” says Jackie Stephens, CEO of CAC. Her center has participated in past “Walk in My Shoes” events and is thankful for the awareness the events bring to childhood sexual abuse.

“About 40% of the children we see are victims of sexual abuse,” says Stephens. “The prevention piece of making children and adults aware of abuse and how to report it is very important.”

CAC will exchange bracelets with the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center in Panama City. Both centers have been touched by Florida’s devastating hurricanes. The Panama City center had to rebuild after Hurricane Michael severely damaged its center in 2018. The Naples center is currently renovating its new building after Hurricane Ian destroyed its previous one. For each, the bracelets exemplify the resilience of hope in the face of trauma.

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Along with the bracelets, a number of new experiences and partnerships are planned throughout the walk.

“We are doing school visits for the curriculum and a service project at a center in Peace River,” says Book, who stresses that every day is different. Book will appear at a Miami Heat game and drop the puck at a Florida Panthers game. The walk will cover over 1,500 miles and travel east to west across the state as Book works her way north to Tallahassee throughout the month of April, which is also Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

After the walk, Book is planning another run for the Florida Senate. Serving as an elected official has given her the opportunity to advance meaningful legislation relating to protecting Florida’s children and families from abuse and supporting survivors.

“(Serving in office) is a tremendous sacrifice, but one in which you know you are creating a world where you can make it better for your kids,” says Book, mom of 8-year-old twins. “A lot of what we do on the walk is get ideas for pieces of policy that people don’t pay attention to. I know I can affect change.”

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