Richard Paul Evans on Depression, Inspiration, and How a NYT Bestseller Was Born
Every so often, a writer creates a book that seems to arrive not through effort, but through revelation. Ask any author and they’ll tell you—most books are built by discipline, by redrafts, by the slow grind of showing up. But every once in a while, something else happens. A story doesn’t just get written… it arrives.
That is exactly how bestselling author Richard Paul Evans, the mind behind The Christmas Box and 41 consecutive New York Times bestsellers, describes the creation of his newest hit, The Christmas Stranger, which premiered at #5 on the New York Times list.
In a deeply personal conversation on Breaking Battlegrounds, Evans reveals the emotional battle, the midnight breakdown, and the sudden, almost cinematic flash of inspiration that became one of the most powerful books of his career.
“Sometimes the magic happens.”
Co-host Chuck Warren opens with the big news:
The Christmas Stranger has landed at number five on the New York Times list.
Warren, who had just finished the book, calls it “sweet,” “moving,” and the kind of story that brings tears by the final pages.
Evans smiles and shares something Terry Brooks once told him:
“Sometimes the magic happens.”
This book, he says, was one of those rare moments where the story seemed to take over.
But he admits—getting there wasn’t easy.
The Breakdown That Became a Breakthrough
Evans explains that while he was writing the book, he was in the middle of a severe bout of depression—a genetic battle he has faced throughout his life. His mother attempted suicide four times. The weight of that family history has never been far from him.
One night, overwhelmed, he took his dog out for a midnight walk.
He prayed.
He cried.
He asked, “Why do I have to battle this?”
And then something happened.
“It was bizarre… I broke open at that moment. The book started pouring into my mind. I saw it as clearly as a movie.”
He went home and wrote five clean chapters—no editing, no outlining, just an unfiltered download of inspiration.
That moment became the opening of The Christmas Stranger: a man contemplating taking his life after losing everything he loves.
Evans had no idea where the story was going.
He just followed it.
And that, he tells Warren and co-host Sam Stone, is why this book feels so different.
“I write better when I’m depressed.”
Sam Stone draws a comparison to Winston Churchill, who famously called his depressive episodes his “black dog”—periods that often preceded bursts of brilliance and productivity.
Evans pauses and admits something he’s never said out loud before:
“I write better when I’m depressed.”
It’s a striking confession from one of America’s most successful authors. Not because it’s rare—but because it’s honest.
Creativity and suffering have long been linked in literature, but Evans doesn’t romanticize it. He simply acknowledges the truth: sometimes pain cracks something open, and what pours out can be inexplicably beautiful.
The Turning Point No Reader Has Predicted
Without spoilers, Evans hints that The Christmas Stranger contains a major twist—one that thousands of readers have missed until they arrive at it.
When he reached that moment while writing, he cried at his keyboard.
“I couldn’t believe something so beautiful had come to me.”
He knew then: this book was going to hit people deeply.
And from the early reception, he was right.
A Book Born in Darkness, Written for the Light
There’s a reason Evans has sold 35 million books and remains one of America’s most beloved writers: he writes stories that heal.
The Christmas Stranger isn’t just a holiday novel.
It’s a reminder that even in the darkest moments—especially in the darkest moments—beauty can break through in ways we never expect.
As Evans puts it:
“This one’s been really special. There’s just magic to it.”
Transcript
Chuck Warren: Well, you have your new book, The Christmas Stranger, right now number five in the New York Times bestseller list. Give our audience an overview of the book. Again, everybody, I loved it. I thought it was very sweet. I had tears at the end. Last night, I was reading it. Tell us about it and what gave you the spark to write this book?
Richard Paul Evans: You know, the author Terry Brooks said, sometimes the magic happens. You know, we go to work on a book and sometimes the magic happens. And this is one of those times. I always give everything I have to my books. You know, like it can’t be wasted I just sit down at a typewriter and bleed. And this one, you’ve read the book, so there’s some turns and it’s really hard not to be, I don’t want to give any spoilers.
Um, but when I got to the final term, which no one has picked so far that I’ve found out the thousands of readers. I wept and I thought, oh my goodness, when this, I couldn’t believe that something so beautiful had come to me. And I thought, when this gets out there, people are going to have a really powerful experience. Cause I’m sitting here crying over my computer.
So, um, when I first started it, I was, I struggled a lot with depression and it’s kind of a family, genetic thing and my mother actually attempted suicide four times and during the time when I was writing this I was really deep in it and just really struggling. And one night I went to I went to walk my dog at midnight and I just sat I was walking and I was just filled with such sadness and I was praying while I was walking. I was like, why, why am I, why is this happening? Why do I have to battle this?
And, um, and then suddenly I just broke down crying. I’m just sitting there crying and it was bizarre. Cause it’s like I broke open at that moment, the books start pouring into my mind and I saw it as clear as clearly as a movie. And I went home and I wrote five chapters, clean chapters, just straight from that experience. And it starts out with a man who’s thinking of taking his life. And after he’s lost everything he loves or the people he loves. And it became, didn’t know where the story was going.
I just, I followed this inspiration and I kept thinking this book is incredible. So this one’s been really special. I mean, there’s just magic to it.
Sam Stone: Do you often get that kind of creative spark from your bouts or battles with depression?
Richard Paul Evans: Well, know how Southern writers, they’re, they’re almost all alcoholics.
Chuck Warren: Right.
Sam Stone: It actually made me think of Churchill, who was sort of famous for going into these, you know, one or two weeks, he called it his black dog.
Chuck Warren: His funks.
Sam Stone: His funks, but he would come out of it with just this massive energy and ideas that he cultivated in that period. I was just, I was kind of hearing some echoes of that almost.
Richard Paul Evans: Yeah, you know what, that’s... Yeah, that’s interesting because I’ve never thought of that, but I actually, told my wife once, I said, you know, Carrie, I write better when I’m depressed, when I’m fighting.
Listen to the full episode of Breaking Battlegrounds anywhere you stream your podcasts!