Lauren Book will walk up and down the state of Florida in 39 days in honor of the 42 million survivors of child sexual and physical abuse in the U.S.
The sixth annual 1,500-mile journey called the Walk in My Shoes campaign began March 14 in Key West and will end April 22 in Tallahassee.
Book, a child abuse survivor, will venture into Gainesville today and Thursday.
“When I started the walk back in 2010, I had no idea how people were going to react,” wrote Book, founder of Lauren’s Kids, which educates children and adults on sexual abuse prevention, in an email.
But six years and more than 6,000 miles later, thousands of walkers have joined Book in her mission.
Claire VanSusteren, communications director for Lauren’s Kids, said Book is walking through Gainesville starting today at 1:30 p.m. for a rally at PACE Center for Girls, located at 1010 SE Fourth Ave.
“One of my favorite things that Lauren and her book ‘Lauren’s Kingdom’ talks about is the fact that it is OK to tell of sexual abuse,” said Margot Wilder, director of development for the Child Advocacy Center. “I think culturally we have the tendency to want to cover up abuse that occurs when we are children, so ... Lauren’s message to tell is really important because it’s ultimately breaking the cycle of abuse.”
For more information on how to get involved, go to laurenskids.org/walk.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 4/8/2015 under the headline “Child abuse walk to stop in GNV”]
