The Renfrow Story

With this illustration, Erica has completed 17 of 22 double-page spreads, technically 77.27% of the book.  We know there are revisions to the early illustrations that will need to be made, so there is more than 22.73% of the work remaining. But still, hitting this point feels pretty significant. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter every day, shining into the shadowy corners where the doubts inevitably hang on.

When I first thought about writing a book about Edith Renfrow Smith, I wondered if it would be possible to have it done by fall 2024, when Renfrow Hall is scheduled to open. I started thinking seriously about it at the end of 2022, weeks after the announcement by Grinnell College that a building would be named in her honor. It had been a nagging thought at the back of my mind since a conversation with Tamara during the summer of 2022. As the new year rolled over on the calendar, that nagging thought grew to a constant companion, waking me up in the pre-dawn hours and not letting go throughout the day. 

It was not something I could ignore. It was more than a nudge at this point, as a person of faith I would have to say I was called to do this. I could see that so many things in my life had led me to this point. But the fact of the matter was, I had no idea what it would take to actually make it happen. I could write the words. But the rest of it? What were the chances of getting it published? I knew self-publishing was an option, but how would I find an illustrator? How would I be able to pay an illustrator? Pay to print the books?  How would the finances work? What would it mean to sell them? Through what outlet?  What about legal stuff? Did I need a lawyer? What about the college? Should I tell them? Partner with them? And what about Edith?

So many questions. I was definitely going to be stepping out in faith! Talking to Edith was one of the first things that I did. I wasn’t doing anything without her blessing. And in many ways that has come full circle with how she, through Alice, is now involved in every illustration. This way we know each illustration will have her blessing. 

Erica has been amazing in working with Alice and Edith for input on each illustration. It is a challenge to read the mind of other people and capture what they see in their minds eye on the page! But she handles the conversations with patience and respect. I am so appreciative of her unshakable desire to honor this story. She is putting a lot more time into each illustration than we originally imagined. And she is not getting paid nearly what she is worth! But her hope – and mine as well – is that this project can help bring her more commissions in the future. Once the books are printed and sales start coming in, she will be getting a cut of each sale. But for now, all I can offer her is abundance praise and my thanks.

At this point I am more confident than ever that we will have the book ready to go to the printer by early November. The process after that – to get the print setup finalized, the printing complete, and the finished books shipped to Grinnell – could take as little as one month, but will more likely be close to two months.

But compared to where we were when this was just a nudge and a leap of faith, I think we’re in a good place.

As always, thanks to everyone who has supported this in any way. Your encouragement and faith in this project – and in me – means more than I can say.