Lauren Frances Book (born October 12, 1984) is an American politician and former educator who has served in the
Florida Senate
The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in ...
since 2016, representing parts of
Broward County
Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...
. A member of the Democratic Party, she has been the Senate's minority leader since April 28, 2021.
Early life and education
Book was born in Hollywood, Florida, in 1984 to Patricia "Pat" Book, a former chocolate retailer, and Ron Book, a lawyer and lobbyist. She is the oldest of three siblings. Book was sexually abused as a child over the course of six years by her nanny. She developed
anorexia
Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...
as a result of the abuse. In 2002, the nanny pleaded guilty to five felony charges and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, later extended to 25 years. In 2007, Book created a charity, Lauren's Kids, to fight for stronger penalties for
sex offender
A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crim ...
s.
Book graduated from the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education. Following graduation, she taught for one year in
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida and the Southeastern United States, and, , the fourth la ...
.
Since 2010, Book has annually led "Walk in My Shoes", a walk from Key West, to
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...
. She has written two books: ''Lauren's Kingdom'' and ''It's OK to Tell: A Story of Hope and Recovery''. She designed an abuse prevention curriculum for implementation in Florida
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...
s.
In 2012, Book was awarded her master's degree in
community psychology
Community psychology is concerned with the community as the unit of study. This contrasts with most psychology which focuses on the individual. Community psychology also studies the community as a context for the individuals within it,Jim Orfor ...
from the University of Miami.
Career
Book ran unopposed for the 32nd district seat in the
Florida Senate
The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in ...
in 2016. In the 2017 session, Book filed a bill that would remove
Confederate Memorial Day
Confederate Memorial Day (called Confederate Heroes Day in Texas and Florida, and Confederate Decoration Day in Tennessee) is a cultural holiday observed in several Southern U.S. states on various dates since the end of the American Civil War. ...
, celebrated on April 26, 2017, from Florida's list of 21 legal holidays. Her bill would also remove the birthdays of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis as official state holidays. Book told CBS4, "during a time when the country is completely divided, I think we look at celebrating our unique coming together instead of some of the things that kind of create hate and divisive environments."
On July 22, 2019, Book wrote Florida governor
Ron DeSantis
Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Repres ...
a letter requesting a probe into how the
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
handled a work release program for
Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American sex offender and financier. Epstein, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, began his professional life by teaching at the Dalton School in Manhattan, des ...
. Following her request, Book reported that she began receiving calls from political supporters of Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, asking her to drop the request for an inquiry. ''
The Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Florida Senate Bill 86, which would have changed implementation and administration of the Bright Futures Scholarship Program.
After the Democrats' incoming Senate leader for 2022–24, Bobby Powell, decided to run for Congress, the Democratic caucus unanimously chose Book to be its leader for the 2022–24 legislature. A week later, on April 28, 2021, the Democratic caucus chose Book to serve immediately as minority leader, following a no-confidence vote in then-leader
Gary Farmer
Gary Dale Farmer (born June 12, 1953) is a Canadian actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his role as Nobody in the films ''Dead Man'' (1995) and '' Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai'' (1999), and for his role in '' Smoke Signals'' (1 ...
.
Personal life
Book married Kris Lim, a professional golfer, in 2008; their wedding was featured on We TV's '' Platinum Weddings''. They divorced in 2010. In 2015, she married Blair Byrnes. They are the parents of twins, born on February 16, 2017.
In 2021, a 19-year-old Floridian was charged with cyberstalking and attempting to extort Book, threatening to release nude images of her. Book later learned that the images have been bought and sold since 2020.