What does a Shire full of hobbits in Middle-Earth, a county full of farmers in Kentucky, and a wardrobe full of a lion have in common? For Russell Moore and singer/songwriter/author Andrew Peterson, they were all a way to find home. 

In this episode—recorded inside Peterson’s book-lined Chapter House in Nashville, right down the road from Moore—the two talk about the authors who, by God’s grace, helped hold their faith together when it could have come apart. From the wisdom of Wendell Berry to the imagination of C.S. Lewis to the honesty of Frederick Buechner, these authors gave a clarity that helped these two keep the faith. 

This isn’t just a literary conversation. It’s about how God uses stories, sentences, and sometimes even sword-wielding mice to reach people in moments of doubt, disillusionment, or despair. Along the way, they talk about what it means to read widely, to hold onto wonder, and to be the kind of Christian who can still be surprised by joy.

They also somehow end up talking about Moby Dick, Dungeons & Dragons, and how ChatGPT was wrong and right about what books each of them would take to a desert island. 

Books and authors mentioned in this episode include:

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

A Room Called Remember and Telling Secrets by Frederick Buechner

The Chronicles of Narnia, Till We Have Faces, Mere Christianity, and more by C.S. Lewis

Godric by Frederick Buechner

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Reading Genesis by Marilynne Robinson

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs

And selections from Andrew’s own works: Adorning the Dark, The God of the Garden, and The Wingfeather Saga

Whether you’re deep in faith, on the brink of losing it, or just looking for something beautiful to read, this conversation will remind you why the right book at the right moment can do more than explain—it can point to new life.

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