Show notes
Why am I giving my book away for free?
I’ve been a writer my whole life, but this book—The Gospel of Zip—is different. It’s about my dog, Zip. It’s about my fifty-six-year relationship with my wife, Genie. It’s about what I’ve learned really matters: love, caregiving, family, friendship. In a world that feels more divided than ever, I wanted to offer something honest and healing. That’s why I’m not just selling this book. I’m giving it away for free.
For the last seven years, I’ve poured myself into this project. No strings attached. No catch. Not because I don’t value my work, but because I value the message even more. At seventy-three, I don’t need to chase a publisher’s advance or turn this into a fundraising campaign. What I want most is to share what I’ve discovered: that the secret to surviving hard times—Trump years, culture wars, political dysfunction—is the same secret that has kept Genie and me together for over half a century. Love. Care. Community. Or, as I put it in the book, “the survival of the friendliest.”
We live in an era of echo chambers and algorithms that divide us. But history—and even a dog like Zip—teaches us something better. People have endured far darker times than these by leaning into cooperation, connection, and kindness. That’s the lesson Zip lives out every day: greeting everyone as a friend, finding common ground where I might not, reminding me that forgiveness and joy are more powerful than resentment. If we can learn to live that way ourselves, there’s no need to stay trapped in bitterness or fear.
So I’m giving The Gospel of Zip away freely because I believe its message belongs to everyone. You don’t have to buy into one ideology or another. You don’t have to agree with me on politics. What unites us is more important: our shared humanity, our longing for love, our need for friendship. Loneliness is deadly. Connection saves lives. If my book can help even a few people rediscover those truths, then every hour I’ve spent on it has been worthwhile.
This is my answer to Donald Trump, to division, to despair. It isn’t hate—it’s love. It isn’t ideology—it’s humanity. That’s why The Gospel of Zip is free. Because the best things in life always are.
Love, Frank
P.S. If you’d like to read my book on kindle or in print you can pick up a copy at thegospelofzip.net. If you'd like to talk to me about this project, email me at frank@thegospelofzip.com. If you'd just like to help me out, please subscribe and share this message with your network.
I have had the pleasure of talking to some of the leading authors, artists, activists, and change-makers of our time on this podcast, and I want to personally thank you for subscribing, listening, and sharing 100-plus episodes over 100,000 times.
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In Conversation… with Frank Schaeffer is a production of the George Bailey Morality in Public Life Fellowship. It is hosted by Frank Schaeffer, author of The Gospel of Zip.
Learn more at https://www.thegospelofzip.com/
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