by Tanner Olson
Over the last few summers I have spent early mornings and late nights writing in Arcadia, Michigan. Sarah, my wife, serves at Camp Arcadia as Development Director, and because of her work I’ve been gifted a front-row seat to a beautiful community—and a perfect place to write and spend summers.
For the last four summers, you may have seen me:
Sharing a poem before a dean presents.
Walking alongside high school students, serving as Assistant to the Dean during Omega Week.
Talking with college students as they serve on summer staff.
Sitting in the back row of the assembly while deans present, scribbling in my notebook.
All of those summers of listening, serving, and writing slowly turned into a book—Getting Through What You’re Going Through: Notes and Poems for Hoping and Becoming (Zondervan).
Getting Through What You’re Going Through wasn’t just written at Camp Arcadia.
This book was written because of Camp Arcadia—and for Camp Arcadia, a place that has always been there for my family.
When the pandemic left us wondering what the future would hold, Camp Arcadia was there.
When my wife and I walked through the uncertainty and grief of unexplained infertility, Camp Arcadia was there.
When we shared the news that we were adopting, Camp Arcadia was there.
When we brought our son, Judah, home, Camp Arcadia was there.
And now as this book enters the world.
In quiet and holy ways, Camp Arcadia kept showing up.
With community and prayers.
With space to remember the goodness and faithfulness of God.
With people who knew how to slow down and listen.
Camp modeled what it looks like to walk with one another through joy and sorrow, hope and heartbreak—reflecting the steady, kind love of God. A place that exists to renew spirit, mind, and body truly does just that.
Somewhere between the dean’s program and late nights on the porch, long walks and sunsets, this book began to take shape. Getting Through What You’re Going Through grew out of moments of waiting, wondering, grieving, and trusting that God was still near—even when answers were not.
This book is for the high school student trying to make sense of the pressure they feel.
It’s for the adult asking what comes next.
It’s for the parents of toddlers who are exhausted and the empty nesters learning how to let go.
It’s for the grieving, the aging, the hopeful, and the unsure.
It’s for you.
If you’ve ever found yourself thinking, I don’t know how to get through this, this book is for you.
If you’re looking for language for what you’re going through, this book is for you.
If you’re in need of a little comfort, a little peace, and a little hope, this book is for you.
My prayer is that Getting Through What You’re Going Through meets readers right where they are—not with easy answers, but with companionship. With words that sit beside you. With reminders that you are not alone, not forgotten, and not beyond hope. And ultimately, with a gentle nudge back toward the One who carries us through it all—Christ our Lord.
If you’d like to spend time with these words, you can order a copy today and receive it at your home on February 17. Bring it with you this summer to camp, and I would be honored to sign your copy and thank you in person for your kindness and support.
With hope,
Tanner Olson
Dean, Family Week 7 2026
Poem Excerpt – “What I Mean Is”
When I say everything will be okay, what I mean is:
In the end everything will be okay.
Along the way it will not all be okay.
You already know this.
There will be sadness and death and failure.
There will be brokenness and moments that feel beyond
repair.
There will be pain and fear and unwanted changes to your
story.
There will be seasons when you feel far from okay and
moments when you wonder
if the last line of this poem is true.
Of the little I know, one thing I know for sure:
Through it all there is hope.
And hope invites us to lean in and hold fast to a light that
continues to last.
It moves us to love and dream and give and continue and
stay for another day.
It leads us to pray and forgive and cling to grace and believe
the last line of this poem is true.
Everything will be okay, even if everything isn’t okay today.
Order the book here:
