Why Some Books Stay With Us Forever | Caitlyn Carlson, Olivia Eldredge

Good news about Good Books Big Questions

We have two exciting updates for you. Our podcast is now on Youtube. You can watch 14 unabridged episodes from Season 1 and 2 on the NavPress Youtube channel. We go even deeper on topics such as self care; getting along with people who disagree with us; wrestling with honest questions about faith; and searching for God when life gets really hard. Also, Season 3 is in the works!  More good books, big questions and great conversations with NavPress authors are coming your way this fall 2026.  If you're enjoying this podcast, please leave a review on whatever platform you're using. It helps others find us.

Why Some Books Stay With Us Forever | Caitlyn Carlson, Olivia Eldredge

In our last episode of Season 2, we take you to the 2026 Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In amongst the book tables and hubbub, host Karen Stiller sat down with NavPress editors Caitlyn Carlson and Olivia Eldredge to talk about how book ideas are selected (Spoiler: it’s not about platform); why NavPress leans into the harder questions of faith; and what makes a book successful. And the answer to that question might surprise you.  Caitlyn Carlson is a senior acquisitions editor at NavPress. Olivia Eldredge is the editor for Eugene H. Peterson’s Message Bible line at NavPress. Visit GoodBooksBigQuestions.com [https://www.navpress.com/podcast] to catch up on all our episodes. Please let us know what you think of the show. Our email address is goodbooksbigquestions@gmail.com And don’t forget to follow, rate and review us. The views and opinions expressed in this recording do not necessarily reflect the positions of NavPress or The Navigators.

You Can’t Just ‘Move On’ From Trauma | Mary DeMuth

“An untold story never heals. It just festers.” That’s one of the big motivations Mary DeMuth [https://www.marydemuth.com/] offers us for reexamining and then sharing our life stories with each other. In her 2026 book Restory Your Life: How Jesus Reframes Your Past, Rewrites Your Present, and Redefines Your Future [https://www.navpress.com/p/restory-your-life/27901/audio-download], DeMuth invites readers to use storytelling techniques, such as conflict, climax, and denouement – a fancy word for conclusion – to help us sort through the past and find God in the midst of it all. In sharing our stories, she says, we end up helping each other and deepening our friendships. Mary DeMuth is the author of more than 50 books. She is a literary agent, international speaker, and host of the Pray Every Day [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pray-every-day/id1341945281]podcast. Visit GoodBooksBigQuestions.com [https://www.navpress.com/podcast] to catch up on all our episodes. Please let us know what you think of the show. Our email address is goodbooksbigquestions@gmail.com And don’t forget to follow, rate and review the show. The views and opinions expressed in this recording do not necessarily reflect the positions of NavPress or The Navigators.

Can You Question Your Faith Without Losing It? | Marty Solomon

There are all kinds of negative terms to describe the process of re-examining what it means to be a Christian: Deconstruction. Exvangelical. A crisis of faith. What if we approached this more positively? Marty Solomon [https://www.martysolomon.com/] says deconstruction can be a vibrant, beautiful, and compelling reconstruction process. Solomon and Reed Dent’s 2026 book The Gospel of Being Human: How Asking Better Questions of the Bible Reveals Who We Are [https://www.navpress.com/search?keyword=the+gospel+of+being+human&_gl=1*1cr6zzr*_ga*ZjdjYjRiMjctMzE2NC00M2NiLWI4MDEtOGI1NTE2MTNlOGIz*_up*MQ..*_ga_7MJ17T9HMN*czE3NzQ3MTQ2MDkkbzEkZzAkdDE3NzQ3MTQ2MDkkajYwJGwwJGgw*_ga_9J1HGDX817*czE3NzQ3MTQ2MDkkbzEkZzAkdDE3NzQ3MTQ2MDkkajYwJGwwJGgw] invites readers on a journey of curiosity. In this conversation, host Karen Stiller and Solomon discuss things like how curiosity makes us better; what the Bible says about life before death and not just life after death; why Jesus had to die; and, of course, how to respond to the deconstructors we know and love. Marty Solomon is the President of Impact Campus Ministries [https://www.impacttheu.com/] and the host of the BEMA podcast [https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/]. Visit GoodBooksBigQuestions.com [https://www.navpress.com/podcast] to catch up on all our episodes. Please let us know what you think of the show. Our email address is goodbooksbigquestions@gmail.com And don’t forget to follow, rate and review the show. The views and opinions expressed in this recording do not necessarily reflect the positions of NavPress or The Navigators.

Christian Burnout Is Real—Now What? | Ben Espinoza

Self-care sometimes gets a bad rap. It sounds entitled. But seriously bad things can happen when we don’t take care of ourselves. Ben Espinoza [https://benespinoza.com/]’s new book Good News about Self-Care: How Nurturing Your Soul, Your Self and Your Sanity Honors God [https://www.navpress.com/p/good-news-about-self-care/9781641589802] is meant for a general audience. Everyone can benefit. But this is a conversation about what happens when pastors ignore self-care. The consequences can be devastating, not just for pastors and their families, but for congregations and the wider Church. Ben Espinoza [https://benespinoza.com/] is the Lead Pastor of Riverstone Church in western New York. Visit GoodBooksBigQuestions.com [https://www.navpress.com/podcast] to catch up on all episodes. Let us know what you think of the show. Our email address is goodbooksbigquestions@gmail.com And don’t forget to follow, rate and review the show. The views and opinions expressed in this recording do not necessarily reflect the positions of NavPress or The Navigators.