You’re gonna be okay

WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN: A MEMOIR OF LEARNING TO BELIEVE YOU’RE GONNA BE OKAY by Sean Dietrich. Available March 10 2020 from Zondervan. Photos courtesy of the publisher.

–Review by Michael Pierce

In the interest of full disclosure I have to say I’m a huge fan of Sean Dietrich, aka Sean of The South.

Sean has written an absolutely wonderful memoir about life and its ups and downs, family, the women in his life, and two special ladies named Ellie Mae and Thelma Lou.

He writes about the human condition, his own condition (with a little humor thrown in), and the people he encounters throughout the South.

Will the Circle be Unbroken is his own story, from his birth in Missouri to the present day. Sean’s story doesn’t necessarily travel a smooth road. Like many of the people he encounters on a daily basis, he has occasionally traveled a very bumpy road.

This is the story of a boy whose dad died by suicide, and a man who struggled with forgiving him for what he had done. His dad seems to reach out to him from beyond the grave, through people and situations that cross the author’s path. He tried to visit his dad after he died, and he failed. Later, he took a second chance.

Reading this book as a person who has had to confront his own demons, and encounters from beyond the grave with family members and previously unknown folks, I felt true empathy with the author and his situations. I could also identify with his ambivalence in some circumstances.

In the end, Dietrich realizes that he truly is gonna be okay. Speaking from experience this can be the most difficult thing to realize. It can be difficult to see the light through the darkness.

And if you’re thinking ‘oh no, another self-help book,’ I truly encourage to read Will the Circle be Unbroken. Hopefully you’ll get where he’s coming from