Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning With and Reimagining Faith
Rachel Held Evans, Sarah Bessey, editor
HarperOne, 416 pages, Published February 24, 2026
When author Rachel Held Evans died unexpectedly at age 37 in 2019, stunned followers responded with an outpouring of gratitude, sharing stories of her impact with #BecauseofRHE. Evans asked courageous questions as she engaged her evangelical faith appreciatively and critically before acknowledging that she could no longer identify with the modern evangelical church. In daily blog posts on Twitter (as it was then known) and through bestselling books, she made the case for a more capacious Christianity, a stance that earned her some detractors and numerous devotees.
Braving the Truth reminds us why. Evans’ friend and colleague, Sarah Bessey, has lovingly compiled more than 10 years of Evans’ posts, which are as honest, brilliant, funny and timely as she was. Her writing remains relevant yet is made more so by the choice to present her essays in conversation with reflections from writers, scholars, activists and others from Evans’ circle, including popular voices like Jen Hatmaker, and those from the margins, including from the LGBTQ+ community she championed.
Evans’ thoughtful writing made doubters feel validated in their questions, seekers realize their curiosity was holy, and it guided “exvangelicals” back to Jesus. Braving the Truth offers a courageous faith that speaks the truth in love, refusing the polarization that defines the church – and our country – today. As pastor Kathy Escobar writes, “I think of Rachel so often in this current social climate that has become exponentially more toxic since her death. I miss her voice, her presence, her strength, her clarity, her vulnerability, her hope.” So do we all.
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