May brought a wave of honors and meaningful moments I’m incredibly grateful to share. I’m thrilled to announce that my Ireland TV segment, “Celtic Charm,” on The Jet Set TV won a Telly Award (there were 13,000 entries), and I’m a five-time finalist for the upcoming Southern California Journalism Awards, including recognition for both my podcast, my Jet Set TV segment on Icon of the Seas and I am a finalist again for Online Journalist of the Year! Winners will be announced in June.
Print features included not one but two stories in Pasadena Magazine—one on my Antarctica adventure with Quark Expeditions and another on my Churchill Wild walking safari with polar bears. I also had the chance to speak at several events, from Frequent Traveler University in Dallas, where I met the legendary Tom Stuker (24 million miles!), to Brandeis University’s alumni spring luncheon in Marina del Rey and a Hadassah New Orleans Zoom gathering, where I had the honor of sharing the message behind BRAVE-ish.
I’m excited to share that my YouTube channel has now surpassed 2.4 million views. And I continue to be inspired by the people I meet—Hoda Kotb on the red carpet at a QVC and TikTok event said she’s going to read BRAVE-ish, and Tiffany Haddish’s Soul Train Prom benefiting the She Ready Foundation for foster youth was amazing. I also attended a powerful Gala for the Organization for Social Media Safety, supporting crucial work that protects young people online.
This month’s “Make Your Own Map” podcast featured Ryan from Quark Expeditions, who was expedition leader on my Antarctica journey, and author Tara Schuster, whose insights on journal writing and self-discovery are soul-shifting.
Feeling honored, humbled, and ready for what’s next.
Pasadena Magazine: TWO PRINT STORIES in the May/June 2025 Travel issue
Thank you Malina Saval and Pasadena Magazine for publishing my Quark Expeditions adventure in Antarctica — in print! From stand-up paddleboarding with seals to helicopter landings on the ice, it was a journey of a lifetime. Grateful to share the magic of the White Continent with readers back home.
Travel All-Stars at FTU 2025 — What an inspiring weekend with legends like Rudy Maxa, Tommy Danielsen, Peter Greenberg, John Ryan, Jamie Larounis, and the incredible Tom Stuker—who’s flown over 24 million miles!
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 have students in 9 countries so far:
Australia, Canada, India, Italy, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, 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 59 countries on 7 continents.
Here is the link to my video channel on YouTube where I now have over 2.4 Million views on YouTube! (now at: 2,400,200).
Thank you for your support! Are you one of my 4,600 subscribers? I hope you will join me and subscribe! For more We Said Go Travel articles, TV segments, videos and social media: CLICK HEREFind 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!
For the authors, that legacy embodies the book’s central message: that even in the face of unbearable loss, compassion, presence and community can help transform grief into an enduring act of care.
This is where the Holocaust story begins – not in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, but earlier, with the Nazi regime’s Aktion T4 program, a state-sponsored campaign to murder people with disabilities.
For the Jewish community, this threat is particularly severe because Jewish life is built around proximity, continuity and intergenerational relationships.
Long before shakshuka became a brunch staple and Israeli restaurants multiplied across the city, Admony was introducing New Yorkers to the flavors she had grown up with in Israel.
Several surveys showed that there is substance to the claim that a degree of Jewish “strengthening” is evident in the Israeli public. However, all the studies so far have dealt with adult society.
This may be Israel’s blind spot. The system is exceptionally good at creating biomedical startups but not equally optimized for turning the strongest of them into enduring global companies.
We may not remember every conversation or every accomplishment, but we remember how people made us feel. In the end, it is those ordinary acts of kindness that stay with us the longest.
It is possible that a record four Jewish candidates will be on a debate stage, vying to become the Democratic nominee for the 2028 presidential election.
While I understand and sympathize with the issues confronting Conservative rabbis and synagogues in the United States concerning intermarriage, allowing Conservative rabbis to officiate at intermarriages will not solve that problem.
The classic case of a “nonapology” apology is when the allegedly contrite offender says something to the effect of “I’m so sorry that you’re upset.” Note that the speaker doesn’t actually acknowledge doing anything wrong.
May Milestones: Awards, Adventures & Honored Moments
Lisa Ellen Niver
May News 2025 Niver’s Newsletter 185
May brought a wave of honors and meaningful moments I’m incredibly grateful to share. I’m thrilled to announce that my Ireland TV segment, “Celtic Charm,” on The Jet Set TV won a Telly Award (there were 13,000 entries), and I’m a five-time finalist for the upcoming Southern California Journalism Awards, including recognition for both my podcast, my Jet Set TV segment on Icon of the Seas and I am a finalist again for Online Journalist of the Year! Winners will be announced in June.Telly Award Winner: Celtic Charm Ireland Travel TV Special
Pasadena Magazine: TWO PRINT STORIES in the May/June 2025 Travel issue
Thank you Malina Saval and Pasadena Magazine for publishing my Quark Expeditions adventure in Antarctica — in print! From stand-up paddleboarding with seals to helicopter landings on the ice, it was a journey of a lifetime. Grateful to share the magic of the White Continent with readers back home.Frequent Traveler University Dallas 2025: Finding Joy in Travel
Travel All-Stars at FTU 2025 — What an inspiring weekend with legends like Rudy Maxa, Tommy Danielsen, Peter Greenberg, John Ryan, Jamie Larounis, and the incredible Tom Stuker—who’s flown over 24 million miles!BRAVE-ish at Brandeis University Alumni Books and Authors Spring Event 2025
RECENT EVENTS:
Tiffany Haddish’s “Get on the Soul Train” to Support Youth Impacted by Foster Care
Making Space for Women 50+ to Shine: QVC TikTok Super Brand Day
Thank you QVC TikTok Super Brand Day for all the inspiration!Learn more about my events: click here and my articles here
Want to travel more? I have a Travel Writer 101 class on Udemy. CLICK here for a coupon to take my class for FREE!
Have you heard my recent podcast episodes?
BRAVE-ish speaker for Brandeis Spring Author Event
Tara Schuster Isn’t Afraid to Go There—And You’ll Be Glad She Did
Leading the Way: An Antarctic Expedition with Ryan McDevitt on Quark Ultramarine
WHERE CAN YOU FIND MY TRAVEL VIDEOS?
Here is the link to my video channel on YouTube where I now have over 2.4 Million views on YouTube! (now at: 2,400,200). Thank you for your support! Are you one of my 4,600 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.You can also find me now on SUBSTACK!
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