You don't have to be fine to keep going.
Maybe you've survived something hard. Maybe everyone around you thinks you should be over it by now. Maybe you're exhausted from pretending to be okay when you're not.
This is a space for people who are ready to stop performing recovery and start finding their own way forward. Not on anyone else's timeline. On yours.
When Everyone Wants You to Be Fine... But You're Not
What no one tells you about healing: there's no timeline, no checklist, no "right way" to do it.
After surviving lung cancer, losing friends to racing accidents, and navigating grief that kept pulling me under, I learned something crucial: the pressure to "be fine" was making everything harder.
The Courage to Start Again is the book I wish I'd had when I was struggling in silence... pretending to be okay, wondering why I couldn't just move on, feeling isolated in my pain because I didn't want to burden anyone.
This book offers what I needed most: the reminder that I didn't need to have it all figured out. Tools for when you don't know what to do next. And the reassurance that you're not alone or broken... you're healing. And healing takes as long as it takes.
Inside, you'll find:
Real stories from someone who gets it (not theory from someone who studied it)
Practical frameworks like borrowed belief, micro-victories, and the 8-minute communication hack
Ways to reclaim your right to set boundaries, trust your intuition, and take imperfect action
Guidance on how to be seen when vulnerability feels terrifying
If you're tired of pretending, tired of timelines, and tired of "should"... this book is for you.
Praise for The Courage to Start
"Trish Donovan does something rare and brave in these pages — she tells the truth. Not the polished, Instagram-filtered version of healing, but the real, messy, still-figuring-it-out kind.
This book gave me permission I didn't know I needed: permission to not be okay when the rest of the world insists I should be. Whether you're on the other side of a cancer diagnosis, a devastating divorce, a loss, or simply a season that broke something in you — Trish speaks directly to the part of you that's been performing recovery for everyone else while quietly drowning.
But this isn't just a book about surviving. It's a roadmap for what comes after. You are not alone in not being okay. And thanks to this book, you won't stay there." — Alannah Lynne, New York Times Bestselling Author
About Trish
Trish Donovan spent more than two decades in professional motorsports as a PR, marketing, and sponsorship management professional. Her career has taken her from the paddocks of IndyCar to the world of sports car racing and includes one of the most memorable moments in motorsports history: kissing the bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when her team won the 2013 Indianapolis 500 with driver Tony Kanaan.
When cancer, grief, and loss forced her to stop and rebuild her own life, she discovered something unexpected: the resilience and tools that help people show up in high-pressure environments work just as well for showing up for yourself. That journey became the foundation of this book.
Trish holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and a Master's degree in Nonprofit Management. She is a speaker, author, and passionate advocate for people who are learning to start again after hard seasons.
She lives in the Indianapolis area with her Miniature Australian Shepherd, Iris, and cheers loudly for her granddaughter Taylor, who led her Plainfield High School volleyball team to the 2025 Indiana State Finals and now plays volleyball at the University of Akron.
When she's not writing or working in motorsports, you'll find her traveling, reading, or courtside at a volleyball match.
Bring this to your group
I speak to women's groups, faith communities, cancer survivor organizations, schools, and teams. I still work in professional motorsports, where more than two decades have taught me how to hold it together under pressure. Cancer and grief taught me what to do when holding it together stops working.
Talks tend to land somewhere in here: starting again when the plan falls apart, healing on your own timeline instead of everyone else's, borrowing someone else's belief in you until you can find your own, and resilience under pressure from pit lane to real life.
If you're looking for someone who will tell the truth about hard seasons, I'd love to hear about your event. Reach me at info@trishdonovan.com.
I'm so glad you're here.
This space is just getting started, and I have some exciting things coming soon. But more than anything, I wanted to make sure you had a place to find me.
If something in these pages resonated with you, or if you just need someone who understands what it means to not be fine, reach out. Seriously. I'd love to hear from you.
Be kind to yourself today. That's not optional. 💛
Now go enjoy that sunset. You've earned it.
Start with the Victory Log
Thirty days of proof that you're moving, even on the days it feels like you're standing still. One line a night before bed, answering one question: what's one thing I did today that moved me forward? Free, yours to keep, and yours to print.
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