The “Red Book” sits at the center of this journey. It holds your thoughts, your steps, and the moments that shape you through the months ahead. Over time, it becomes a legacy piece you build with care. It reflects the days you pushed forward, the days you rested, and the lessons that settled into your heart. By the end, it becomes something you can return to with pride or share with someone who may need the reminder that steady effort can change a life. Before you begin the p

Know that the road ahead is long, the path uncertain, and the comforts of home will not be easily replaced. Yet this document marks the willing commitment of the undersigned to leave behind ease, to embrace effort, and to take part in the grand undertaking known as One Year in Middle-earth.

Some journeys begin not with footsteps but with a spark in the heart. Some call it curiosity, others call it calling. In Middle-earth, it was the ring that set the world in motion; in our time, it is the will to seek purpose, strength, and wonder.