Senator Lauren Book Contact information

Lauren Frances Book was born on October 12, 1984, in Hollywood, Florida. She is an American politician and former educator who has served in the Florida Senate since 2016, representing 35th district. A member of the Democratic Party, she has been the Senate’s minority leader since April 28, 2021.

Book was born 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 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 offenders. Book graduated from the University of Miami in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education. Following graduation, she taught for one year in Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Since 2010, Book has annually led “Walk in My Shoes”, a 1,500-mile walk from Key West, to Tallahassee, Florida. 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 kindergartens.

In 2012, Book was awarded her master’s degree in community psychology from the University of Miami. Book ran unopposed for the 32nd district seat in the Florida Senate in 2016. In the 2017 session, Book filed a bill that would remove Confederate Memorial Day, 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.

On July 22, 2019, Book wrote Florida governor Ron DeSantis a letter requesting a probe into how the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office handled a work release program for Jeffrey Epstein. 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.