She lost her parents to secret opioid addictions. She lost her voice when the shame shattered her heart. But when she learned to understand and embrace her story, she became Shatterproof.

College football and gymnastics fans have welcomed Emmy Award-winning ESPN sideline reporter Lauren Sisler into their homes weekly since 2016. But the popular journalist who is known for her insightful questions and viral videos dancing her signature “Sideline Shimmy”, shielded a tragic secret behind her smile for nearly two decades: her mother and father died within hours of each other, victims of their hidden battle with prescription drug addiction.

In her new critically acclaimed book, Shatterproof, Lauren enters the dark and mysterious pasts her parents hid from everyone but each other. She applies her skills as a reporter to uncover details of the double lives they led even as they loved and supported her athletic career as a gymnast. She also lays bare her shock and grief after their deaths, confessing the lengths to which she went to avoid facing the unimaginable truth. By summoning the courage to honestly confront the tragic story, Lauren has been freed to grieve her parents while appreciating the loving legacy they left her.

Lauren Sisler is an Emmy Award-winning sports broadcaster who joined ESPN and the SEC Network in 2016 as a sideline reporter for college football and gymnastics. She is a highly sought-after inspirational speaker and addiction awareness advocate who is dedicated to helping audiences refuse to be defined by their shame and inspiring them to fall in love with their own stories so they too can be Shatterproof.  She and her husband, John Willard, live in Birmingham, Alabama. On July 4, 2023, they welcomed their son, John Mason Willard, into their family.

Timothy W. Fong MD will join Lauren Sisler in conversation.  Dr. Fong is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.  He is board certified in adult and addiction psychiatry and is the co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program, the purpose of which is to examine the clinical characteristics of gambling disorder in order to develop effective, evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies.  Dr. Fong is a member of the Steering Committee of the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids whose mission is to address the most pressing questions related to the impact of cannabis legalization through rigorous scientific study and discourse across disciplines.  He is a member of the UCLA Sports Psychiatry Service and is part of the UCLA Sports Medicine Mental Health Team. He  is the President-Elect of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.