Turning the Page into 5786: Brave Enough to Begin Again
This season has always held the feeling of beginning for me. The month of Elul, leading into Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur… the return to intention, reflection, and renewal. And after so many years in classrooms, September still carries the energy of fresh notebooks, new ideas, and the sense of stepping forward into something possible. With my birthday in October, it becomes a deeply personal New Year — a gentle turning of the page.
This year, that shift is layered with gratitude and emotion:
The hostages who are alive are home. A sentence filled with relief, prayer, and heartbreak. We hold joy alongside grief, and grief alongside hope. We honor lives lost. We stand with families learning how to breathe again. We continue to hold space for healing — in Israel, in the Jewish world, and in our own hearts.
And alongside that tenderness, this season has also been full of meaning, movement, and community.
BRAVE-ish turned 2 Thank you for every conversation, book club, stage, sanctuary, podcast mic, conference hallway, and message where someone said: this book helped me take one small courageous step. That is why it exists.
A Season of Moments That Filled Me Up: • Tashlich at the beach — releasing what is too heavy to carry with Nashuva. • Hiking in Deer Valley and Park City — aspens glowing, air crisp, body grounded. • Under the stars at the Hollywood Bowl — Chicago, John Legend, Christopher Cross, Jurassic Park — 18,000 hearts sharing music and night sky. • A joyful backyard birthday celebration for Chris with Dramarama playing live. • Dancing with Maks from Dancing With the Stars at The Mulholland. • Celebrating at Tourism Ireland for our Telly Awards win, meaningful days in New York City with family and friends and at AdWeek 2025, Qantas & Brisbane event connections, speaking with the CHUM Houston club about BRAVE-ish and scuba diving! Thank you to the Hadassah book club for promoting Brave-ish–coming soon my photos from our adventures in NOLA before my NCL Escape cruise. • And — my podcast, Make Your Own Map, is now watched in 64 countries across all 7 continents. I still can’t say that without smiling.
Through it all, I keep returning to this:
Fall is an invitation. To notice what matters. To let go of what doesn’t. To step — even gently — toward the life you want to be living.
As we close 5785 and look toward the New Year, my hope is that we each carry forward resilience, curiosity, and joy — while remembering those we have lost, standing with those still healing, and honoring the call to repair our world, one human act at a time.
Here’s to the chapter ahead. To new adventures. To community. To connection. To being brave… ish.
With love, Lisa
Birthday Wish + Recent Highlights
This October, as I celebrated my birthday and Brave-ish turned two, I found myself thinking about what I most want to call forward in the year ahead: curiosity, courage, beauty, and community — always community.
My birthday wish is simple: May we keep choosing connection. Small conversations. Shared stories. Showing up for each other. The world feels big and heavy, but we lighten it when we carry it together.
My balcony on the NCL Escape for Halloween 2025! More photos, videos and stories coming soon!
I’ve been grateful to see these themes reflected back in recent features and gatherings:
• Take 5 published a beautiful piece about my journey, my travels, and how Brave-ish continues to grow. • The Penn Alumni Magazine shared the news of my Telly Award and 1st Place at the Press Club Awards — a full-circle moment back to where so much began. • And I’ve had the joy of joining Hadassah book clubs in Los Angeles and New Orleans by zoom and at Shabbat dinner in person — where women of every age are reading, reflecting, and choosing bravery in their own lives. I am honored to see Brave-ish on their Facebook group page as well!
Each conversation reminds me that courage is not loud — it’s daily. It’s human. It’s shared. And it matters.
I have events nearly every month–hope to see you at a live event soon–and you can invite me to speak at your conference, library, bookstore, book club live or on ZOOM!
I am ready to return to Brisbane and travel on Qantas! Check out their event in Venice Beach about the new Dreamliner route:
I have students in 10 countries so far: Australia, Canada, India, Italy, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, USA! Join us on the adventure of travel writing!
THANK YOU for watching my award-winning podcast, Make Your Own Map: Are YOU ready to be BRAVE? It has now been seen and heard in 64 countries on 7 continents.
Have you heard my recent podcast episodes?
WATCH my podcast, “MAKE YOUR OWN MAP: ” on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Podcast, Google Podcasts, Audacy, Audible, Anchor, Pandora & iHeart Radio
What an honor to win 1st place for my podcast. Watch the podcast segment here: Ireland: Neville’s Stories at Giant’s Causeway
Watch the full Telly Award-Winning Ireland TV special, Celtic Charm here
WHERE CAN YOU FIND MY TRAVEL VIDEOS?
Here is the link to my video channel on YouTube where I now have over 2.5 Million views on YouTube! (now at: 2,523,132).
Over 2,500,000 views on @YouTube
Thank you for your support! Are you one of my 4,690 subscribers? I hope you will join me and subscribe! For more We Said Go Travel articles, TV segments, videos and social media: CLICK HERE
Find me on social media with over 150,000 followers. Please follow me on social @LisaNiver TikTok, X Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, BlueSky and at LisaNiver.com.
Do you LOVE my book BRAVE-ish? PLEASE WRITE A REVIEW!! Click here to go directly to rate or review BRAVE-ish on Amazon (now at 61 reviews. Help me get to 75) You can find my book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Simon & Schuster, Post Hill Press, Target, Walmart, BookShop, BAM! and wherever you get your audiobooks!
People always ask me where is it best to buy my book. I recommend you go into or call your favorite local book store and ask them to order it for you and pick it up IN THE STORE! You never know what other treasures you will find. Any bookstore can order my book because my publisher is Post Hill Press and it is distributed by Simon and Schuster. My book is now in the library on Quark Ultramarine and in the store at Dubray bookstore on Grafton in Dublin, Ireland! Brave-ish is available all over the globe!
You can also find me now on SUBSTACK!
