Why am I passionate about this?

I am a former hospital chaplain. My job was to accompany people through the earliest stages of dealing with crisis, trauma, and grief. In four years, I responded to more than 750 deaths, along with countless car accidents, gunshots, stabbings, miscarriages, stillbirths, violence, and unimaginable abuse. With a front-row seat for the worst of this world, faith became much more complicated. I wrestle every day but still cling to faith amid the spiritual and mental scars. 


I wrote...

George and the Magic Memory Pool

By Brian Spahr ,

Book cover of George and the Magic Memory Pool

What is my book about?

This book is a poignant and deeply human collection of stories that explore God’s abiding presence in the messy, beautiful…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Everything Happens for a Reason

Brian Spahr Why I love this book

I loved this book because it met me in the tension between faith and suffering with raw honesty and unexpected humor. Kate Bowler doesn’t offer simple answers—she dismantles the tidy clichés I’ve heard too often, exposing how little control we actually have.

This book has helped me wrestle with the mystery of God’s love that sticks with me even when nothing makes sense. 

By Kate Bowler ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Everything Happens for a Reason as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - 'A meditation on sense-making when there's no sense to be made, on letting go when we can't hold on, and on being unafraid even when we're terrified.' LUCY KALANITHI

'Belongs on the shelf alongside other terrific books about this difficult subject, like Paul Kalanithi's When Breath Becomes Air and Atul Gawande's Being Mortal.' BILL GATES

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY REAL SIMPLE

London-born Kate Bowler, a thirty-five year-old professor at the school of divinity at Duke, had finally had a baby with her childhood sweetheart when she began to feel…


Book cover of The Way of the Heart

Brian Spahr Why I love this book

I read this book after my heart attack, and it met me in a place of deep vulnerability. I felt like it was written for me… for that time. It made me remember especially the importance of silence and solitude. It played a big part in my healing from the mental and spiritual trauma of my heart attack. 

By Henri J. M. Nouwen ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Way of the Heart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Since its first publication, The Way of the Heart has helped millions of men and women cast off the anger and greed that trouble the world—and find love, compassion, and peace in the heart of God.

Inspired by the ancient teachings of St. Anthony and the Desert Fathers,The Way of the Heart clears before us a spiritual path consisting of three stepping-stones: Solitude (learning not to be alone but to be alone with God); Silence (the discipline by which the inner fire of God is tended and kept alive); and Prayer (standing in the presence of God with the mind…


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of The Problem of Pain

Brian Spahr Why I love this book

I read this book in a season when I was wrestling with that pesky old question, “Where is God when I am suffering?” It challenged me to think deeply about why a loving God allows pain.

Wrestling alongside Lewis helped me feel less alone in my own questions. 

By C. S. Lewis ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Problem of Pain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Why Must We Suffer?

“If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow his creatures to suffer pain?” And what about the suffering of animals, who neither deserve pain nor can be improved by it? The greatest Christian thinker of our time sets out to disentangle these knotty issues. With his signature wealth of compassion and insight, C.S. Lewis offers answers to these crucial questions and shares his hope and wisdom to help heal a world hungering for a true understanding of human nature.


Book cover of The Universal Christ

Brian Spahr Why I love this book

I found so much freedom in this book. Richard Rohr put words to things I had long felt but struggled to articulate—that Christ’s presence is not confined to religion, rules, or a distant heaven but woven into everything, here and now.

This book expanded my view of God, shattering the small, transactional faith I had been handed and replacing it with a love big enough to hold all things. Rohr’s words helped me see Christ in the ordinary, in the broken, in myself—and that changed everything.

By Richard Rohr ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Universal Christ as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'I cannot put this book down' - BONO

'One of the most influential speakers in the world' - OPRAH WINFREY

In his decades as a globally recognized teacher, Richard Rohr has helped millions realize what is at stake in matters of faith and spirituality. Yet Rohr has never written on the most perennially talked about topic in Christianity: Jesus. Most know who Jesus was, but who was Christ? Is the word simply Jesus' last name? Too often, Rohr writes, our understanding has been limited by culture, religious squabbling, and the human tendency to put ourselves at the centre.

Drawing on…


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Book cover of Prayer Journal For Warriors

Prayer Journal For Warriors by Robert Widders,

As a Veteran, I once dismissed Christianity, viewing it as outdated and irrelevant.

But as I witness the West sliding into chaos, I realize how wrong I was. It is no accident that Christianity is under assault while the West is being overwhelmed by a cultural virus that sows discord…

Book cover of What is God Like?

Brian Spahr Why I love this book

I know this is a children’s book, but sometimes I need more pictures and less words. This book reminds me that God is close, tender, and deeply personal, not cold, distant, and demanding. This helps me feel safe to question, wonder, wander, doubt, and believe.

By Rachel Held Evans , Matthew Paul Turner , Ying Hui Tan (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked What is God Like? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The late, beloved Rachel Held Evans answers many children's first question about God in this gorgeous picture book, fully realized by her friend Matthew Paul Turner, the bestselling author of When God Made You.

Children who are introduced to God, through attending church or having loved ones who speak about God, often have a lot of questions, including this ever-popular one: What is God like? The late Rachel Held Evans loved the Bible and loved showing God’s love through the words and pictures found in that ancient text. Through these pictures from the Bible,…


Explore my book 😀

George and the Magic Memory Pool

By Brian Spahr ,

Book cover of George and the Magic Memory Pool

What is my book about?

This book is a poignant and deeply human collection of stories that explore God’s abiding presence in the messy, beautiful realities of life. Through raw honesty, vivid storytelling, and profound theological reflection, Brian Spahr invites readers to wrestle with the mystery of God’s love—a love that refuses to retreat in our pain, silence, or doubt.

Whether sitting in grief, rejoicing in joy, or wandering through the everyday struggles of faith, this book reminds us that we are never alone. Spahr’s heartfelt words offer hope for anyone longing to feel seen, known, and free in a world too often marked by shame and disconnection.

Book cover of Everything Happens for a Reason
Book cover of The Way of the Heart
Book cover of The Problem of Pain

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