Here We Go: Lessons for Living Fearlessly from Two Travelling Nanas

TikTok’s “Traveling Nanas” Hamby and Hazelip aim in their spirited debut guide to inspire readers to live more adventurously. The pair—who’d met as Christian missionaries and spent their friendship traveling together—decided in 2022 to celebrate their 80th birthdays with an 80-day trip around the world. The trek took them across seven continents and found them jumping off cliffs in Bali, learning to balance on a boat amid 40-foot waves in Antarctica’s “treacherous” Drake Passage, and even running into the FSB in Russia when a man was arrested on their train (“If you don’t hear from us in a few days, assume we’re in a Siberian prison,” they quipped in emails to their kids). They also stitch in touching recollections of how their friendship developed and was strengthened by travel, which they note also opens doors to connecting with strangers at a time of increasing isolation. The authors’ can-do attitude and sprightly prose inspire, even if more off-topic reminiscences, including adulatory asides about their husbands, can feel out of place. Still, this is sure to strike a chord with travelers old and young. (Sept.)