South Florida's Democratic former state Sen. Lauren Book is hitting a milestone this year: Her 'Walk in My Shoes' campaign turns 10.
Book and thousands of sexual abuse survivors and advocates walk a combined 1,500 miles from Key West to Tallahassee each April, which is both Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Their goal along the way is to raise awareness about child sexual abuse and prevention.
"It has been truly rewarding," Book said, reflecting on the anniversary and the the droves of people who participate every year. "We say it's awesomely awful. It's an incredible opportunity."
Participants don't have to walk the entire walk, and can endure whatever distance they choose. Book and other walkers will be marching through different South Florida cities: April 3 and 4 in Miami, April 5 in Fort Lauderdale and April 6 in Boca Raton.
Book, a victim of childhood sexual abuse, launched the nonprofit Lauren's Kids in 2007 to educate adults and children about sexual abuse prevention through in-school curriculum, resources for families and speaking engagements.
"Together we need to make a world where it doesn't hurt to be a child," Book said.
WLRN's education reporter Natalie La Roche Pietri spoke with Book about the significance of a decade of walking for this cause.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
WLRN: Ten years of 'Walk in My Shoes' is a big milestone. How do you reflect on this massive effort a decade after you started?
BOOK: It is an incredible opportunity to watch survivors grow year, after year, after year. Our culture around us has embraced an issue, has worked to talk through and about an issue, to end it. It has been truly rewarding. We say it's awesomely awful. It's an incredible opportunity, but it is certainly very, very grueling and not without its fair share of sacrifices.
You'll trek 1500 miles across the state to reach Tallahassee. Having done this nine times before, what has gotten easier and what has gotten harder?
I don't know that it could ever be easier physically. There is nothing to prepare you for a 90 degree heat of the day, 20 miles in Key West. You just get smacked in the face. It's hot, it's grueling, it's tough. There's nothing to prepare you. The things that have that make it possible though are the people and the survivors.
I was thinking about a woman who last year came and walked with us. A 98-year-old woman who had never talked about her abuse, never talked about the sexual assault she encountered as a young woman, never told her husband. The year prior to that he died. So for the first time, she felt comfortable talking about what happened to her, and I think about having to live that life. Giving that woman an opportunity ... an outlet to share their voice in that way — I think it's remarkable.
Read more: A new 'sanctuary for healing' in South Miami-Dade
A feature of this year's walks is having survivors make friendship bracelets with their names and ages. Where did the idea come from and what made you want to do it?
I have two 8-year-olds at home and my daughter and I sit and make friendship bracelets all the time. There's never a time that there aren't beads somewhere in this house. So one day we were getting ready actually for [Taylor Swift's] Eras Tour, and one of her friends was having a hard time and she was stringing together a bracelet with some words of encouragement. And I said, "That's very nice." And she was giving this to her friend and she said, "You know, mom, you could bring these on the walk." And I thought, "Huh, this is a great idea!"
It has just been something that I am so excited about, something that I'm so proud of, because again, when you're looking at a little girl, a little boy, making a bracelet for another little child who's been through something similar, these are things where you feel very isolated, you feel very alone, like one else can understand. And when you have a physical reminder made by somebody out there in the world who's been through something similar and wants you to know that you're gonna be okay, I think that's something really special, something very powerful.
According to Child Protect, a children's advocacy center, one out of three girls and one out of five boys will be sexually abused before they reach 18. You've said it's not just about raising awareness, but that taking action and increasing education about child sexual abuse in the U.S. are key to protecting children. What are some of the signs that should raise flags for adults if they see them in a child?
I would suggest that red flags that parents look for is any marked change in their child's behavior. If you have a happy-go-lucky kid who is always engaged, loves to have snack with you after school, good at eating dinner, and then you notice all of a sudden they're not eating, they're withdrawn, they don't wanna be around, they're nervous when you touch them, they startle easily — something's going on and have a conversation.
And another red flag if you have a child that may be a little bit older, who's showing up with gifts that you did not purchase with money they do not have, those are some signs that something may not be quite right.
We have seen quite frequently at an alarming rate, I would say, the digital world impacting our children. One in five kids who touch a digital device will be solicited for sex online. It's not just the sexual abuse that you think of yesteryear that we used to talk about, these are very different things.
You are one of the 42 million survivors of child sexual abuse living in the U.S. today. This is very much personal to you. Why is it important that others join this cause?
This is a human issue. Whether you know it or not, you know someone who's been affected by this issue. Someone in your family, someone in your close friends [network] — this has touched someone in your life. And I think that no matter who you are, where you are or what your journey has been up until this point, it's incumbent upon each and every one of us to make the world a better place than where we left it.
Together we need to make a world where it doesn't hurt to be a child. Unfortunately, all too often it does, but each and every one of us play a part in making this difference.
Copyright 2025 WLRN Public Media
