Greetings from 30,000 feet. I am writing to you from an airplane (half-asleep, but what else is new?) en route to Birmingham for a meeting with a publisher and with any luck, a Lauren’s Kids children’s picture book will be coming your way soon. Within the last 40 days, I completed a 1,500-mile walk across the state of Florida during my annual ‘Walk in My Shoes,’ journey…within the next 40, I will be visiting New York City on three separate occasions and making trips to Tallahassee, Florida the Netherlands and Barbados to empower survivors and prevent child sexual abuse. And boy do I need a nap.
…but seriously. I really need a nap.
Now before I go any further, I want to be clear: I’m NOT complaining. It took years of clawing, digging, scratching, doors getting slammed in my face and refusing to take ‘no’ for an answer to get Lauren’s Kids, and our message of hope, healing, recovery and prevention, into the public eye. This is all a dream come true for the scared, ashamed 11-year-old girl who endured daily sexual and physical abuse and would have given anything for someone to see her, notice the horrific things that were happening and help put an end to them. I feel lucky every day to have the opportunity to travel around the world to make it different for others kids and give voice to an experience shared by 42 million survivors of child sexual abuse in America alone.
