The Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel left children living near the Gaza border with significant emotional baggage — whether they themselves were kidnapped, had a loved one taken hostage or killed, or had to evacuate their home — and their parents and caregivers tasked with helping them regain hope and resilience.

Lishay Miran Lavi, whose husband, Omri Miran, was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 738 days, sought to help children deal with loss and uncertainty related to Oct. 7 and beyond, with her new book, Mojo’s Return: A Story of Resilience and Hope, which was published in Hebrew and English in November.

On Oct. 7, Miran, Miran Lavi and their daughters, then ages 6 months and 2, were in their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz when Hamas terrorists attacked. Terrorists entered their home and forced a 17-year-old neighbor, under threat of death, to tell the Miran family to come out. The terrorists held the family and other hostages in a nearby home for several hours, broadcasting the scene on Facebook Live. They later kidnapped Miran and others to Gaza, leaving his wife and daughters on the kibbutz. Miran Lavi and her daughters, Roni and Alma, were rescued by IDF soldiers that evening and were evacuated to Kibbutz Kramim, near Beersheva, where they have lived ever since.

Miran Lavi began working on the book with her New York-based co-authors Melissa Stoller and Mary Millman about a year ago, with assistance from ANU – The Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, as a way to discuss what happened to her family with her two daughters, who were by then 4 and 2. 

Proceeds from the book will go to children’s resilience centers near the Gaza border.

“It’s a tool to reflect what happened for the girls and help them deal with the fact that their dad [was] not there,” Miran Lavi told Jewish Insider on Wednesday. “It’s for my girls and for everyone’s children who experienced Oct. 7 with a great loss, like a father or uncle who is not coming back because he was murdered, or fell in the war.” 

Mojo’s Return tells the story of a father, mother and two girls who were celebrating a holiday together when a storm hits their kibbutz. The storm upends the kibbutz, destroying many homes, and the father and the family’s dog, Mojo, disappear. Family, friends and strangers start hanging up signs with the father’s name and photo, and the girls would call out at night and say they love their father. Mojo makes his way back to the kibbutz, injured, but months pass and the father does not return. The mother and girls try to rebuild their lives and do fun things such as baking and going on picnics, and they draw pictures of what they did for their father to see when he comes home.

The story ends inconclusively, with the girls and mother sitting on their doorstep with Mojo, hoping that “a new day of sun will arrive.” 

The co-authors finished writing the book, which was also meant to bring awareness to the hostage crisis, when Miran was still held in Gaza, but it was published weeks after he was freed on Oct. 13, 2025.

Still, Miran Lavi chose to keep the open-ended conclusion to the story.

“The book came from my personal story and everyone’s story of Oct. 7, but it can be for anyone and anything, so any ending could happen. We got a happy ending, but that does not always happen,” she said.

Miran Lavi said that she and her daughters “lived with uncertainty for over two years and had to deal with it in different ways,” and the book addresses such situations.

Mojo was inspired by the Miran family’s real dog, also named Mojo, who like his eponymous book character went missing after the Oct. 7 attacks. Miran Lavi thought Mojo was lost or killed, but he was returned to the family days after the attack. He died in May.

“Mojo was really part of the family,” Miran Lavi said. “Mojo’s return gave us a lot of hope after the early days of chaos and unclear emotions. We didn’t know if Omri was alive or not, but it was very symbolic for us that Mojo was found. … It gave us hope.”

Miran Lavi and her co-authors wrote the book in Hebrew and English simultaneously, and released it in both languages.

“The story of Oct. 7 is not just for Israelis,” she said. “The book touches on so many things for children who experienced loss anywhere in the world.”

Miran Lavi has received videos from other families who read the book.

“It’s moving to see the response to something that I created. There are children who said it made them think about lost toys, or a dog that died, or an uncle or father who fell in the war. Everyone takes it to their own place,” she said.

The first person to read Mojo’s Return to Alma and Roni was Omri, after his return from captivity. Miran Lavi recounted that 2-year-old Alma’s reaction was: “But dad came back.” 

“It raised a conversation,” she said. “It also made them miss Mojo. We talked about how dad came back but Mojo died. We talked about Mojo and death.” 

Now that the Miran family is reunited, Miran Lavi said that “it is a great joy, a lot of fun, but it is not so simple. It’s not like Dad is back and everything is O.K. We have a long journey ahead.”

The Miran family is one of many hostages’ families who have started crowdfunding for support after their loved one’s return.

“The State of Israel is really giving us a lot in the area of rehabilitation and psychological aid, but we set up the crowdfunding to allow us to dedicate ourselves to his journey of rehabilitation and lift ourselves up again,” she said.

Meanwhile, the family of four is still living in Kibbutz Kramim, and has yet to decide whether to go back to Nahal Oz: “We’re still not in the right place to make that decision. We’re at the beginning of our journey, and it’s still open,” she said.

Lishay Miran also mentioned Ran Gvili, the final hostage whose body remains in Gaza.

“In all of these months that Omri is back, we still feel like we cannot move forward as long as one of us is left behind, and we call for his return,” she said.