What prompted you to write the book “Loving Natalee: A Mother’s Testament of Hope and Faith”?

The writing of the book actually evolved over a period of time. Shortly after this happened to Natalee, I made a pledge that I would share her story with every high school I could, because I hoped that no other family would have to endure the challenges that we faced during our first few weeks in Aruba. I lived in Aruba for about four months while I was searching for her, and during the fifth month, I thought it was time for me to make good on my pledge as Natalee’s case was now in the hands of John Kelly, attorney at law. I began traveling and, over the course of two years, presented personal safety messages to over 20,000 high school and college students in 22 states. During this time I thought, “How could I reach more travelers?” and I started thinking about writing a book.

How did this movie come to be?

It’s a direct result of the book. We started talking about it with Lifetime, and at first I wasn’t sure if I could take the next step. But then I had the privilege and opportunity to fly to Los Angeles and to sit down with an incredible creative staff from Sony and Lifetime. I knew instantly that this was the next step and the right thing to do.

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What was it like being on set?

I was nervous and overwhelmed at first. Even the equipment and the logistics were fascinating to me. I had my camera and took pictures whenever I could. It was really an honor to be there.

Has it been emotional to replay these events?

I don’t think that anything could compare with the first four months of what we endured while searching for Natalee in Aruba. The movie is something I view as an accomplishment, because we are able to help shed light on a lot of things that I wrote about in my book.