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As the longtime star of Law & Order: SVU, Mariska Hargitay has always been an outspoken advocate for victims of sexual assault—so it was no surprise when she hosted an event celebrating the release of a powerful new book on the topic.
On Tuesday, March 11, Hargitay moderated a Q&A to kick off the book tour for Amy Griffin‘s debut memoir, “The Tell.” In a pair of black and white photos shared to Hargitay’s Instagram, the 61-year-old actress and the author shared the stage together, with Hargitay reaching out to grab Griffin’s hand in one pic and the pair sharing an embrace in the second. She also posted an image of the book’s cover art.
“My heart is overflowing with joy and gratitude after last night’s book tour launch for Amy Griffin’s ‘The Tell,'” Hargitay wrote in her caption.
“My heart is also just so full of love for you, @amygriffin , and I’m so proud to call you my dear friend,” she continued, adding, “Thank you for telling your story. In ‘The Tell’, Amy shares her journey through harrowing emotional terrain—and demonstrates on every page how courage, strength and vulnerability go hand in hand on her way to a new, hard-won freedom. How lucky we all are to hear, learn from and bear witness to her story in ‘The Tell.’ ‘Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.’ Carl Jung.”
Hargitay’s fans gushed over the evening in the comments, which was also attended by famous book lovers Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Jenna Bush Hager.
“It was so special to witness! This was incredible 
,” wrote one person.
“Wow so much strength in one room,” a second Instagram user added.
“It was such a beautiful night, you both did amazing 
,” raved a third commenter.
In another moment from the evening shared to Instagram by Oprah’s Book Club, Winfrey joined Hargitay in praising Griffin’s book.
“I can tell you for sure that what this is going to do is release a lot of people to be free,” she said. “And it’s so powerful that never before have I been anywhere where Reese Witherspoon’s book club and Jenna’s book club and my book club are all in the same room!”
