That Beautiful Question

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That Beautiful Question

A Father and Son's Quest to Love a Broken World

Matt Woodley

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Publication Date: May 5, 2026

Can you truly know the world and still love it?

In That Beautiful Question, Matt Woodley invites readers into a gripping father-son journey that spans continents. He weaves together the story of his struggles as a pastor recovering from burnout and disillusionment with that of his son, a young ER doctor in Papua New Guinea, who confronts diseases easily cured in the West but often fatal in the Highlands. Together, they wrestle with a deep and enduring question: Can you truly know the world in all its suffering and beauty and still love it?

Set against the vibrant yet heart-wrenching backdrop of Papua New Guinea, this memoir explores how faith, resilience, and love are tested when faced with overwhelming odds. Readers will encounter gripping medical failures, miraculous recoveries, and raw human moments that shape both father and son. That Beautiful Question offers readers a compelling vision of how honest lament can lead to a renewed love for this broken and beautiful world.

Endorsements

To cry is human. In this beautifully imagined book, the hardest question of history is seriously asked and seriously answered: “Can we know the world, and still love the world?” Born of a pilgrimage of years together as father and son, we are invited to look over their shoulders and through their hearts, learning with them that “to cry is human”—not a response to avoid, but instead a profoundly holy and therefore deeply human way of seeing and hearing the world with its griefs and heartaches and sorrows, longing for what could be, yearning for what someday will be. In That Beautiful Question we are drawn into a deep and unusual kinship born of a long love, listening as they wrestle with the world, even as they choose and choose again to love the world.

Steven GarberAuthor, Hints of Hope and The Seamless Life, Senior Fellow, Vocation and the Common Good, M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust
In a world marked by suffering and immeasurable brokenness, how do we learn to love unconditionally? That Beautiful Question follows a father and son, separated by distance yet united by moral injury, as they seek healing in an unexpected place—Papua New Guinea, the “Land of the Unexpected.” Both raw and adventurous, this biblically grounded journey invites readers to wrestle with one of life’s most difficult and essential questions. Come, read, and explore.

Lance Plyler, MDChief Medical Officer, Samaritan’s Purse
As a former missionary surgeon and field leader at a referral hospital much like Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in PNG, I found That Beautiful Question both deeply resonant and profoundly needed. Few books capture the cost, calling, and quiet courage of medical missions with such honesty. But what makes this work truly extraordinary is the father-son collaboration—two servants of Christ, shaped by different continents, ministry perspectives, and seasons of life, bearing witness together to the beauty and brokenness of our world. Their shared journey reminds us that vocation is never solitary; it is formed in community, refined in suffering, and strengthened across generations.

Mike Chupp, MDCEO, Christian Medical & Dental Associations
In a world marked by suffering and immeasurable brokenness, how do we learn to love unconditionally? That Beautiful Question follows a father and son, separated by distance yet united by moral injury, as they seek healing in an unexpected place—Papua New Guinea, the “Land of the Unexpected.” Both raw and adventurous, this Biblically grounded journey invites readers to wrestle with one of life’s most difficult and essential questions. Come, read, and explore.

Lance Plyer, MDChief Medical Officer, Samaritans Purse
Take this challenging journey, not only to the far reaches of the earth, but into the depth of those crucial questions of heart and soul, where suffering and brokenness demand our response. Does compassion have sufficient strength to survive, despite never ending assault? A pastor’s wounded heart and his son’s sacrificial service in a faraway place among a fascinating people and culture provide an important window into the challenges of a full and loving embrace of our sisters and brothers with whom we share life’s journey.

Bill McCoy, MDMissionary doctor, Kudjip Nazarene Hospital