Four out of five women will at some point—often due to the loss of a spouse—find themselves solely responsible for their finances.

The story of Monowi, Nebraska, perfectly exemplifies this challenge. After her husband Rudy passed away, Elsie Eiler didn’t just find herself responsible for her finances, but for the entire town of Monowi. In telling her story, we hope to celebrate female resilience and independence, and show that no matter how great our challenges may seem, they are not insurmountable.

When we first started developing this idea, we knew we wanted to tell a story that would capture the financial challenge that women throughout America face: suddenly finding themselves solely responsible for managing their finances. However, we needed the perfect place—and person—to bring that story to life.

After extensive initial research, we found Monowi, a town with a population of just one person: 84-year-old Elsie Eiler. After reaching out to her, location scouts and interviewers traveled to Monowi to conduct further interview, and learned more about the story of Elsie and her town. We discovered that her story, while seemingly unusual, was in fact representative of what millions of American women go through—only with the added pressures of having to manage an entire town.

After further discussions, Elsie agreed to let us film her and tell her story.