Keith and Janet Eldred, a couple grateful for their long married life, developed a radical plan: Keith would retire early and publish his first 20 books in 2020. Any profits would roll into their long-term goal of raising $1 million for their public library, where Janet served as director. Their impetus was her early-stage dementia.

This is the story of the moonshot project called THIS IS RED. Keith tells how he and Janet discovered her problems and what might have contributed to them. He describes how they decided to be radically open about her situation and how that changed their lives in profound and precious ways.

The book traces the path to their unique effort. Scenes include all-nighters in a bookstore, a business meeting with grade schoolers, declarations of love in a series of convenience stores, and a professional fighter clobbering a 12-foot inflatable dinosaur. This story of transforming adversity emphasizes enduring with faith, persisting with work, continuing after failure and embracing imperfection.


The long title is literal and affirming. As of this book’s release, the project remains far from its $1 million goal, but the plan is advancing—this is the 20th book, published in December 2020—and Keith and Janet see valuable rewards for their community and themselves. The stage is set for their eventual follow-up book NOW WE KNOW How We Raised $1 Million for Our Public Library.