Braving the Truth

Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith

by Rachel Held Evans

edited by Sarah Bessey

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans inspired a generation of questioning and evolving believers. This book offers a collection of her most impactful essays—in print for the first time.

For a generation finding their footing in life after evangelicalism, Rachel Held Evans was one of the most trusted and beloved voices of our time. Stubborn in her hope, courageous in her questions, and devoted to inclusivity, her online writing was a sanctuary to the millions who read her words daily. Her death to a sudden illness in 2019 invoked a global outpouring of stories of her legacy and influence.

Today, her words still speak, and now for the first time, fans old and new can experience her most viral and enduring essays in print. Braving the Truth is an anthology and keepsake collection letting readers borrow the bravery Rachel was best known for. Edited by New York Times bestselling author and Rachel’s dear friend Sarah Bessey, and interspersed with reflections from Matthew Paul Turner, Shauna Niequist, Lisa Sharon Harper, Glennon Doyle, and more, this special volume tackles topics such as:

“An Evolving Faith:” On doubt, asking questions, and liberation from certainty
“That Unholy American Trinity:” On patriarchy, white supremacy, and religious nationalism
“Casseroles and Kingdom of the Hungry:” On the church
“All right, then, I’ll go to hell:” On gender and sexuality
“Still a Bible Nerd:” On Scripture, biblical literalism, and a better way
and more

“If you want to understand the Church today, you need to understand Rachel Held Evans,” so writes Sarah Bessey. Thoughtful yet down-to-earth, immediate and timeless, this essay collection is a gift from the past to bring into the future—a treasury to revitalize, validate, embolden, and return to again and again.

Available everywhere books are sold on February 24, 2026.

“Arranged thematically, the entries critique the evangelical Christianity in which Evans was raised, including the tendency of some believers to view themselves as persecuted by an increasingly atheistic society—a point of view, Evans argues, that blinds them to the genuine challenges “faced by the underprivileged in this country.” Also taken to task is evangelical Christianity’s perversion of scripture to justify oppressing women and LGBTQ+ people. Yet Evans makes room for her own doubts and questions, noting that her faith evolution has involved much “wrestling, meandering, stretching, struggling.” Elsewhere, she gives due to the lessons of her youth: “While my disagreements with many in that community are important and real,” she writes, “those Christians... taught me to love and memorize Scripture, to change a diaper, to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, and to think critically enough to deconstruct and reassess some of their own teachings.” Short entries from friends, thinkers, and teachers contextualize Held’s essays and track their influence on contemporary Christian thought. The result is an excellent introduction to Evans and her powerful model of holding Christianity to account.”

— Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Thank you to these contributors for their reflections throughout the book:

Preorders are now available

Braving the Truth is now available for preorder at your local and/or independent bookstores as well as these online retailers:

Braving the Truth

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans inspired a generation of questioning and evolving believers. This book offers a collection of her most impactful essays—in print for the first time.

Preorders are now available

Field Notes for the Wilderness

Sarah Bessey