Regina Brett

Regina Brett built her public voice in the steady rhythm of newspaper columns, radio conversations, books, and talks meant to meet readers in ordinary life. Born May 31, 1956, she is an American author, inspirational speaker, and newspaper columnist whose work has been closely tied to Ohio, especially Akron and Cleveland. She currently writes for The Cleveland Jewish News, with columns syndicated through Jewish News Service.

Before her books reached readers around the world, Brett worked the daily terrain of local journalism. She spent seven years as a columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal, then wrote for The Plain Dealer, Ohio’s largest newspaper, from 2000 to 2017. Across her career, she has written more than 2,500 newspaper columns. Her commentary brought wide recognition: she was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for commentary in both 2008 and 2009, and she has received honors including National Headliner Awards, Ohio Associated Press awards, and Best Columnist in Ohio awards.

Brett’s education also shaped the way she wrote about practical choices and spiritual questions. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in religious studies from John Carroll University. In 1998, after being diagnosed with breast cancer, she wrote about chemotherapy and recuperation in her Akron Beacon Journal columns. Those pieces earned her a National Headliner Award and helped define the kind of writing many readers came to associate with her: plainspoken, personal, and focused on how people keep going.

Her most widely circulated column began as “50 Life Lessons,” published in The Plain Dealer in 2006. It spread across blogs and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, often with Brett mistakenly identified as a 90-year-old woman. The column later grew into her first book, God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life’s Little Detours, published in April 2010 by Grand Central Publishing. The book has appeared in 26 countries, and her debut book has been translated into 24 languages. She followed it with Be the Miracle: 50 Lessons for Making the Impossible Possible, God Is Always Hiring: 50 Life Lessons for Finding Fulfilling Work, Little Detours and Spiritual Adventures: Inspiration for Times When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned, and 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time, released in October 2025.

Brett has also carried her message beyond print. From 2006 to 2010, she hosted The Sound of Ideas on Cleveland NPR affiliate WCPN 90.3 FM, and from 2011 to 2013 she hosted The Regina Brett Show on Akron NPR affiliate WKSU 89.7 FM. From 2020 to 2022, she hosted the podcast Little Detours, and in 2024 she launched a Substack with the same spirit. Her words still travel because they are direct enough to remember and practical enough to use: “No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.”