Let's Not Play Small: A Memoir of Divorce, Healing, and Reinvention Through Solo Travel

One woman's journey of courage, healing, and reinvention through solo travel.

When Dawn Ritter Fischer walked away from a conventional life in 2019, she wasn't chasing bucket lists or Instagram-perfect moments - she was searching for herself.

After divorce, heartbreak, and decades of living by everyone else's rules, she chose to rewrite her story one country at a time. What followed was a reckoning - and the radical act of rebuilding a life.

Dawn boards a cargo ship bound for Patagonia, sails the Caribbean with a French lover, walks 500 miles across Spain and lands in a small village in India just as the world shuts down.

Stranded by a global pandemic, she's forced into the stillness - and into herself. Dawn's story is as breathtaking as the places she's traveled as a full-time solo nomad. Along the way, she learns that solo travel isn't about escaping life - it's about creating it.

The added bonus? Dawn includes a special Solo Travel Toolkit within the book that contains everything you need to know, to travel solo with confidence.

Let's Not Play Small is a raw, funny, and deeply personal memoir about starting over, trusting yourself, personal transformation, and saying yes when fear says no. Through moments of vulnerability and strength, Dawn invites you into her most unforgettable experiences:

Facing fear while traveling solo through unfamiliar countries

Building connection and community on the road

Learning how to live fully after loss and reinvention

Discovering love - in unexpected places and in herself

This is a book for women at a crossroads, women aspiring to travel solo, dreamers craving adventure, and anyone who's ever wondered what's possible when you step beyond your comfort zone.

If you've ever longed to reinvent your life, travel solo around the world or reconnect with your courage, this book will inspire you to take the leap and start living boldly.

Because playing small was never the plan.

This inspiring memoir is perfect for anyone interested in:

Solo female travel and real-life adventures

Life after Divorce and break-ups and reclaiming your independence

Healing and self-discovery through cultural immersion and exploration

Midlife reinvention and creating a new chapter on your own terms

Travel memoirs that mix humor, honesty, and inspiration

Includes a Bonus Section: The Complete Guide for the Solo Female Traveler--with safety tips, packing lists, trip planning checklists, and useful travel Apps and websites. Really, it's all you need to go solo with confidence.

If you've ever typed "how to start over after divorce" "solo female travel books" or "midlife reinvention memoir" into a search bar, this book belongs in your hands. For readers of Eat Pray Love, and Wild, Let's Not Play Small is both a passport and a permission slip to step into the life you've been longing for.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Dawn Ritter Fischer
Published: 03/15/2026
ISBN: 9798999773517
Pages: 326
Weight: 0.96lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.73d