Alice Paul Tapper to publish picture book inspired by medical misdiagnosis

New book from bestselling author Alice Paul Tapper, daughter of CNN anchor Jake Tapper, is inspired by a near-fatal health emergency

NEW YORK — The new book from bestselling author Alice Paul Tapper, daughter of CNN anchor Jake Tapper, is inspired by a near-fatal health emergency.

“Use Your Voice,” with illustrations by Fanny Liem, is a fictional take on Alice’s 2021 hospitalization after experiencing severe abdominal pain, chills and vomiting – which turned out to be appendicitis. Doctors misdiagnosed her condition as a viral infection and only gave her an ultrasound, which revealed she had a perforated appendix leaking toxic bacteria, after Jake Tapper begged the hospital administrator.

Penguin Workshop, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, will release “Use Your Voice” on August 27, the author’s 17th birthday.

“I am so excited to share this book and give children visiting the hospital a place that can be scary for everyone, not just children,” Alice Paul Tapper said in a statement Wednesday. “The characters in the book that make up the pain map are my way of showing my thought process from the time I was sick, and I hope readers will enjoy them while understanding the need to listen to their own bodies .”

Tapper is also the author of “Raise Your Hand,” a 2019 bestseller about the need for girls to be heard in the classroom.