Rachel Kerr Schneider showed up to her husband's funeral in all red. Why red? It's the color of celebration, fire, and force. Red represents the flame of the Holy Spirit. Red is also the signature color of the ALS Association. How do we think about the unthinkable: keeping faith and hope when someone we love is diagnosed with a terminal illness? Rachel Kerr Schneider, a Dallas-based author, was faced with this very reality. Her new memoir The Widow Chose Red? My Journey with Jesus, John, and ALS shares the heartbreak and humor in helping a husband finish well after his diagnosis of ALS. Raw, inspiring, and emotional, Rachel provides insights into areas of life and death that many women may find themselves facing sooner rather than later. 

In simple terms, ALS (also called Lou Gehrig's Disease) causes the muscles to break down until they lose functionality, and ultimately, death. Rachel makes this journey while raising young children, running the home, planning for an uncertain financial future, managing medical treatments, welcoming hospice, and accepting the help of supportive friends and relatives. It is challenging to remain Christ-like while living in a cloud of chaos. There's never enough time to breathe, to sleep, to eat, to relax, to pray, or to take a bath. However, there's plenty of time to suffer. On a very personal level, Rachel shares how she accesses her reservoir of faith to cope with heartache, hopelessness, and hurt.

Now an Amazon Hot New Release in the Spiritual Biography category, The Widow Chose Red? is opened by the New York Times Bestselling Author of Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul, Patty Aubery. Her forward is a peek into what's to come: "This book is more than a story about loss, it's about love, faith, and resilience. Rachel doesn't shy away from the hard parts. She lets you into her moments of fear, sadness, and uncertainty—but what makes her story so powerful is how she responded" Rachel's story isn't just about her husband's ALS diagnosis, it's about relationships, community, self-reflection, and much more. Her recollection of the events is portrayed alongside her journal entries, providing a real-time reaction to the tragedy.