It's OK to Tell: A Story of Hope and Recovery - Hardcover

Lauren Book, now 25, was 11 years old when her new nanny, Waldina Flores, joined the family. For the next six years Lauren endured daily sexual and physical abuse. "I was a people pleaser," she says. "I was beaten every day...Waldy was very smart, like all predators are. She hit me and bruised me where my parents wouldn't look. When you are 13 and 14 parents never look at their children's stomachs or lower backs or butts or upper thighs." Lauren is the oldest of three children; her father, Ron Book, is a prominent Florida attorney and lobbyist. In 2002, after being encouraged by her boyfriend, Lauren confessed to her therapist, who in turn called her parents. Her father fired Flores. She fled to Oklahoma and was arrested one month later while coaching a 10-year-old girls' soccer team. While in prison, Flores wrote love letters to Lauren asking for money and ultimately was sentenced to another 10 years on top of the initial 15 years. Since then, Lauren and her father have successfully mounted a legislative onslaught against predators; the many laws they are responsible for include the right to get 48-hour access to predators' HIV test results, a ban on molesters from ever contacting their victims or families, passed legislation to create a statewide network of sexual assault treatment centers, and the controversial act that barred predators from living 2500 feet from public places where children gather such as schools, parks, and playgrounds. Lauren's memoir is a book about hope in the face of extreme adversity. While it deals with a tremendously sensitive and "dark" subject, the hope that it delivers to readers carries an everlasting positive impact. Her story will empower readers to address abuse issues in their own lives and move them to understand the resulting deep emotional matrix that results from abuse and the incredible power of an individual's ability to recover and embrace life.

Lauren Book recently graduated from The University of Miami with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and creative writing. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in elementary education at Nova Southeastern University. Lauren lives in Coral Springs with her husband, Kristopher Lim, a pro golfer and a tremendous supporter of Lauren.

Lauren founded Lauren’s Kids in 2007 with the mission to prevent sexual abuse through awareness and education and to help survivors heal with guidance and support. She has been instrumental in creating and executing a curriculum for grades K-3 that has been adopted by Florida’s Miami Dade County Public School System and hopes that it will be adopted nationwide.