Tanner Olson: Poet, Theologian, Speaker

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In this episode, Blake and Jamie sit down with poet, speaker, and author Tanner Olson for a conversation about suffering, hope, creativity, and the honest work of getting through difficult seasons.

Tanner shares the heart behind his new book Getting Through What You’re Going Through, a collection of poems, essays, and reflections meant to be a hopeful companion for people navigating life’s hardest moments. Rather than offering easy answers or quick fixes, Tanner explores the power of naming pain honestly and sitting with others in their suffering.

The conversation moves through humor, storytelling, and deeply personal moments—from Tanner’s health scare and the lifestyle changes it forced him to make, to the ways stress, pride, and striving can quietly shape our lives. Along the way, the group reflects on why empathy is often more powerful than advice, why information alone doesn’t lead to healing, and how poetry can give language to emotions people struggle to express.

Tanner’s writing invites readers to slow down, acknowledge what they’re going through, and trust that hope can still exist in the middle of uncertainty.

This episode is a reminder that sometimes the most meaningful thing we can offer each other is not a solution—but presence.

Takeaways

• Poetry can help people name emotions they struggle to articulate.

• Sometimes the most helpful response to suffering is simply saying, “I hate this for you.”

• Healing rarely comes from information alone—it requires presence, processing, and time.

• Rest and lifestyle changes can be brave choices, even when they feel difficult.

• Creativity often grows from walking through real life experiences.

Resources

Check out more from Tanner Olson:

• New Book: Getting Through What You're Going Through: Notes and Poems for Hoping and Becoming https://amzn.to/4usjMqj

• All The Things I Say to God: Learning to Pray Anytime, Anywhere https://amzn.to/3P08GJ5

• Website – https://www.writtentospeak.com/

• Substack: https://substack.com/@tannerolson

• Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/writtentospeak/

Learn more about Three Percent:www.threepercentco.com

Chapters

(00:00) Welcome to the Episode

(02:00) Introducing Tanner Olson

(04:30) Poetry, Humor, and Writing About Real Life

(06:00) The Heart Behind Getting Through What You’re Going Through

(10:30) The Power of Words During Difficult Seasons

(15:30) Why Empathy Matters More Than Easy Answers

(20:30) When People Try to Fix Your Pain

(26:30) The Limits of Self-Awareness and Information

(33:00) Why This Was the Book Tanner Needed to Write

(36:00) A Health Scare and the Wake-Up Call of Stress

(40:30) Lifestyle Changes and Letting Go of Control

(47:00) Childhood, Wonder, and Finding Peace Again

(50:00) Humor, Poetry, and Being Fully Yourself

(58:30) Hope in the Middle of Hard Things

(01:01:00) Where to Find Tanner and His Work

Keywords

Three Percent podcast, Tanner Olson, poetry and faith, emotional health, Christian spirituality, healing and suffering, personal growth, stress and burnout, empathy, vulnerability, faith and creativity, hope in hard seasons, mental health, trusting God, spiritual formation, processing emotions, poetry and healing