“She died at her happiest — her demons were at bay,” Lynda said. “She wasn’t a saint, but she was an angel.”
Lynda has just finished a book on Lauren’s life called “Throw Me the Rope” in hopes of helping others young girls battling addiction.
Beginning work on “Throw Me the Rope” shortly after her daughter’s death, Lynda is now searching for a publisher for the book. She hopes to use proceeds from the book to start a foundation to help troubled teenage girls.
“Throw Me the Rope” is part memoir, part biography and part self-help book.
It follows Lauren’s journey from troubled teen to international fashion model who counseled other recovering alcoholics and volunteered her time working at food banks whenever she would visit her parents in Newport Beach.
Her parents hope telling Lauren’s story in a book will inspire other young women battling addiction.
“Anything Lauren tried, she was going to come first or second in,” Lauren’s father, David Zussman, said.
“A lot of people who are pretty don’t do very much but sit around and look good, but she was one tough cookie.”
The title of the book comes from a recurring bad dream Lauren had as a small child, where she was drowning in quicksand.
Lynda instructed her daughter to imagine her tossing her a rope to hold onto during the dream.
“The things I taught her about life she taught back to me and so much more,” Lynda said. “Now I need her to throw me the rope — her life is a lesson to others.”
Lynda and David continue to mourn for their daughter.
