Over Yonder
Sean Dietrich
384 pages
Thomas Nelson Publishing
October 7, 2025
I will read anything this author writes, including a shopping list. It is not because he uses inventive, magical prose; it is because he takes real life, including all of the parts you do not particularly want to see, and makes you care about everyone and everything, no matter what. Like Charles Martin, another writer who shines his light on the gritty and mundane, the reader walks away from his novels changed and thinking about what is really important in life.
Dietrich’s writing is not for everyone at every moment. There are times when I need something much lighter; his novels are not light. They are not for the faint of heart. I always have a little struggle especially nowadays as I get older because I find gritty harder to take. By the end, though, I feel happier than when I went in, even though his novels do not tackle the easy. Nonetheless, the gritty is undercut with carefully delivered humor.
Also, like Martin, his novels are character driven but still have a strong plot with actual events. As I have aged, I do not have as much patience for character driven novels where that is basically all there is. I need to have things happen or boredom ensues. I am never bored by Dietrich’s books because although they are not exceedingly short, he believes in economy of words. The protagonist in this novel, Woody, like protagonists in all good books, is flawed. Woody is an ex con, trying to make peace with himself and forge a relationship with his daughter, Caroline who is a pregnant teenager, who come to know each other after her mother, Woody’s ex girlfriend, is dying. Both Woody and Caroline are exceedingly human, with all the baggage that is attached but the reader walks away wanting something more from each of them. They feel like old friends. Dietrich, a newspaper columnist by trade, uses his keen observation skills to give his characters a depth I do not see in many novels, along with grace.
Finally, the reason that Dietrich’s books, while tackling hardship and sadness, do not depress is that the reader always learns something about life and it is usually an important lesson. “It wasn’t about what you had accomplished…it was about who you loved.” There are things we should know in life but good literature can remind us of what really matters.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for giving me access to this advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest opinions.
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