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Dawn Ritter Fischer

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in The United States
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January 2025


Dawn Ritter Fischer is the author of Let’s Not Play Small, a candid travel memoir about reinvention, desire, and the courage it takes to start over when the life you built no longer fits.

After a breast cancer diagnosis and the unraveling of her marriage, Dawn chose movement over shrinking back.

In 2019, she left with a one-way ticket and no real plan, eventually traveling across seven continents, walking pilgrimage routes, crossing oceans by ship and sail, and learning (sometimes the hard way) what freedom, love, and self-trust can look like.

"I didn’t leave because everything broke. I left because, after the divorce and after breast cancer, I couldn’t unsee the truth: I’d been living small in a life that looked good from the outside, but wa
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Dawn Ritter Fischer It's written through the lens of my solo travels, but it's really about something much more internal.

At it's core, it's about what happens when you o…more
It's written through the lens of my solo travels, but it's really about something much more internal.

At it's core, it's about what happens when you outgrow a life that once fit, and the unraveling and rebuilding that follows when you begin again.

The travel is part of the story, but you don't have to want that kind of life to connect with the most inspirational aspects of the memoir.

If you've ever looked at your life and something wasn't quite aligned anymore, or you're starting over for whatever reason, Let's Not Play Small is a great place to start.
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Average rating: 4.68 · 37 ratings · 14 reviews · 1 distinct workSimilar authors
Let's Not Play Small: A Mem...

4.68 avg rating — 37 ratings3 editions
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It's a permission slip

"Unflinchingly honest, wise, and unexpectedly funny."
I didn't set out to write this type of memoir. I thought it would just be about redesigning my life as a solo traveler and how I went about my healing after divorce and breast cancer.
But it turned into so much more, and while sometimes I wonder if I shared too much, I know that honesty and bravery need to be shared. It's what I am most proud o Read more of this blog post »
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Published on April 28, 2026 02:15 Tags: memoir
A Tale for the Ti...
Dawn Fischer is currently reading
by Ruth Ozeki (Goodreads Author)
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Dawn’s Recent Updates

Precious Children by Mary G. Thompson
" Omg. You sold me. "
Precious Children by Mary G. Thompson
"Precious Children by Mary G Thompson is a disturbing science fiction story that poses some very interesting ethical questions while still being an absolute page turner of a read.
Set in a near distant future where the wealthiest families can afford t" Read more of this review »
Dawn Fischer rated a book really liked it
Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister
Caller Unknown
by Gillian McAllister (Goodreads Author)
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Fast paced. Surprise ending. Loved it.
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash
"I really liked the characters, writing and humor and wish that it had stayed more in the lane of literary fiction rather than veering off into an absurdist plot. "
Dawn Fischer rated a book really liked it
Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister
Caller Unknown
by Gillian McAllister (Goodreads Author)
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Fast paced. Surprise ending. Loved it.
Dawn Fischer rated a book it was amazing
Amazing! by Kate  Evans
Amazing!
by Kate Evans (Goodreads Author)
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I’m all about later-in-life reinvention for women. Amazing! explores all of them; betrayal, guilt, self-discovery, loss, sexuality.
The story keeps the reader hooked from beginning to end. It’s as if the author took a bite out of each of our lives as
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Dawn Fischer and 383 other people liked MarilynW's review of I Must Betray You:
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
"I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys,
Edoardo Ballerini (Narrator)

While I knew some of what went on in Romania during the tyrannical twenty four year rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu, I wasn't aware of the details that we get from this story. In 1989, seventee" Read more of this review »
Dawn Fischer and 471 other people liked Holly B 's review of I Must Betray You:
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
"Could not put it down.

Grabbed me after a few chapters and kept me absorbed and on the edge until the very end.

Communist dictator, Nicolae Ceaușescu has been ruling Romania for 24 years. The Communist Party spied on everyone and had a right to see and" Read more of this review »
Dawn Fischer rated a book it was amazing
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
I Must Betray You
by Ruta Sepetys (Goodreads Author)
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A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
A Tale for the Time Being
by Ruth Ozeki (Goodreads Author)
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Quotes by Dawn Ritter Fischer  (?)
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“When we inspect our fear, unravel each strand of its whole, deconstruct the power of its influence and consume it for our evolution, we find liberation.”
Dawn Ritter Fischer, Let's Not Play Small: A Memoir of Divorce, Healing, and Reinvention Through Solo Travel

“When we inspect our fear, unravel each strand of its whole, deconstruct the power of its influence and consume it for our evolution, we find liberation.”
Dawn Ritter Fischer, Let's Not Play Small: A Memoir of Divorce, Healing, and Reinvention Through Solo Travel

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