Lauren Frances Book (born October 12, 1984) is an American politician and former educator who served in the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

from 2016 to 2024, representing parts of

Broward County Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the Senate's minority leader from 2021 to 2024.

Early life and education

Book was born in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

, 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 (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

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 and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...

s. Book graduated from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

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 the public school district serving Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida, the largest in the South ...

. Since 2010, Book has annually led "Walk in My Shoes", a walk from

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

, to

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

. 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 cen ...

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 Orf ...

from the University of Miami.

Career

Book ran unopposed for the 32nd district seat in the

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 holiday observed in several Southern U.S. states on various dates since the end of the American Civil War. The holi ...

, celebrated on April 26, 2017, from Florida's list of 21 legal holidays. Her bill would also remove the birthdays of

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

and

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

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, attorney, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the 46th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Pa ...

a letter requesting a probe into how the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office handled a work release program for

Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( , ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American financier and child sex offender. Born and raised in New York City, Epstein began his professional career as a teacher at the Dalton School, despite lacking a col ...

. 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 Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe countie ...

'' reported that Book also received multiple anonymous calls and texts with more ominous demands to halt her request for a probe. Book voted against the controversial Florida Senate Bill 86, which would have changed implementation and administration of the

Bright Futures Scholarship Program Bright Futures is a scholarship program in the state of Florida. It is funded by the Florida Lottery and was first started in 1997. History The Bright Futures Scholarship Program was meant to emulate neighboring state Georgia's HOPE Scholarshi ...

. 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 A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

in then-leader

Gary Farmer Gary Dale Farmer (born June 12, 1953) is a Canadian First Nations ( Cayuga) actor and musician. He is best known for his Independent Spirit Award-nominated roles in '' Powwow Highway'' (1989), ''Dead Man'' (1995) and '' Smoke Signals'' (1998). ...

. In 2022, Book faced a primary challenger, former Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief. The race devolved into a bitter battle between the two candidates, and Book's absenteeism from her district was made an issue by the Sharief campaign. Book ultimately won her primary, after being endorsed by Broward County Commissioner Steven A. Geller, the Sierra Club, the ''

South Florida Sun Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Broward County, and ...

'', the Florida Education Association, Pembroke Pines Democratic Club President Lourdes Diaz and Democratic activist Charles Horowitz. Notably, the ''Sentinel's'' endorsement was made with "little enthusiasm" because of the nastiness of the race. On April 3, 2023, Book was arrested alongside

Nikki Fried Nicole Heather Fried ( ; born December 13, 1977) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and politician who has served as the chair of the Florida Democratic Party since 2023. Prior to her election as chair, she served as the 12th Florida Commissioner ...

, the Chair of the

Florida Democratic Party The Florida Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida, headquartered in Tallahassee. Former commissioner of agriculture Nikki Fried is the current chair. Andrew Jackson, the first territorial go ...

, following a protest of an anti-abortion bill being considered by state lawmakers. The bill would ban abortions after six weeks. Book and ten others were arrested for trespassing after the

Tallahassee Police Department The Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) is the municipal police that provides public safety services for the city of Tallahassee, Florida, United States. Within the department, there are twelve primary divisions: The Chief of Police, Internal Aff ...

instructed them to disperse by sunset, which they did not do.

Personal life

Book married Kris Lim, a professional golfer, in 2008; their wedding was featured on We TV's ''

Platinum Weddings ''Platinum Weddings'' is an American reality television series which premiered on July 23, 2006, on the WE tv cable channel. The series chronicles the lives of couples who are planning their upcoming lavish weddings. The series spawned one Spin-o ...

''. 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 Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, group, or organization. It may include false accusations, defamation, slander and libel. It may also include monitoring, identity theft, thr ...

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.

References

External links

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Florida Senate - Lauren Book
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Book, Lauren 1984 births Living people 21st-century American educators 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women educators 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American women writers 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature American women non-fiction writers Democratic Party Florida state senators Educators from Florida Jewish state legislators in Florida Jewish American women in politics Jewish educators Non-profit organizations based in Florida NSU University School alumni People from Hollywood, Florida Women state legislators in Florida