About the Book
A staggering love illuminating the dark corners of a Nazi prison
Renowned German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is famous for his resistance to the Nazi regime and for his allegiance to God over government. But what few realize is that the last years of his life also held a love story that rivals any romance novel.
Maria von Wedemeyer knows the realities of war. Her beloved father and brother have both been killed on the battlefield. The last thing this spirited young woman needs is to fall for a man under constant surveillance by the Gestapo. How can she give another piece of her heart to a man so likely to share the same final fate? Yet when Dietrich Bonhoeffer, an old family friend, comes to comfort the von Wedemeyers after their losses, she discovers that love isn’t always logical.
Dietrich himself has determined to keep his distance from romantic attachments. There is too much work to be done for God, and his involvement in the conspiracy is far too important. But when he encounters a woman whose intelligence and conviction match his own, he’s unprepared for how easy it is to give away his heart.
With their deep love comes risk–and neither Dietrich nor Maria is prepared for just how great that risk soon becomes.
Based on detailed historical research, this true love story is at once beautiful and heartrending. My Dearest Dietrich sheds new light on a world-famous theologian . . . and the woman who changed his life.
Excerpt
“Allow me to take the liberty of introducing myself. I’m Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And you are?” He smiled, wanting to ease her discomfort. After all, it wasn’t her fault she’d fallen in the mud or been unaware of his arrival.
Her chin angled slightly. She had an arresting face, almost girlishly round in its angles and planes, yet proud and startlingly lovely. “Maria von Wedemeyer.”
Now it was his turn to be shaken. Gone were the long braids and shapeless pinafores he remembered about the little girl he’d attempted to take on for confirmation classes. The Maria before him, with her expressive blue eyes and upswept, albeit tousled, hair, was twelve years old no longer.
He cleared his throat, realizing she expected him to say something along the lines of polite conversation. “It’s … um … very nice to meet you. Again.”
She held out her hand, though it, too, was a bit muddy. He took it anyway, unable to unglue his gaze from her face. She appeared recovered from her earlier outburst and gazed back, unblinking. Her fingers clasped his, not hesitating or limp, but warm and decisive, and it was probably longer than necessary before he found his senses and pulled away.
Maria faced her grossmutter. “Why did you not tell me Pastor Bonhoeffer was arriving this afternoon?”
Ruth laughed again, as if the whole situation were as entertaining as a comic opera. “Why? Would you have made more of an effort in your appearance?”
Maria shrugged, a flash of laughter in her gaze. “Oh probably. It’s a good thing I refrained from dragging Friedrich Schiller in here by his ear. He’s a good deal muddier than I at the moment.” She grinned as if accustomed to giving her grossmutter what for.
“Why don’t you go and change, Maria.” Ruth inclined her head toward the door.
“Of course.” Maria turned her attention back to him, a flush suffusing her cheeks. “My apologies for my sudden entrance, Pastor Bonhoeffer. It’s a habit of mine while here at Klein-Krössin.”
He couldn’t help but smile—nein, grin. It loosed something inside him, giving into the impulsive urge that made his lips tug upward. “It’s quite all right, Fraülein von Wedemeyer. It was a good attempt you made, trying to help Greta.”
“Even if it didn’t work out the way I wanted. But as Goethe says, ‘He who goes not forward, goes backward.’ ” With a little wave, she turned and left the room. Dietrich stared after her, this muddy, Goethe-quoting girl who’d swept into the room, disordering it—and him—in a matter of seconds.
Review
*blows nose, dabs eyes, and takes a deep breath*
Wow. Where do I start? This book is beautifully written, impeccably researched, and as inspirational as it is heartbreaking. If you want to know the cost of discipleship, read this book. I mean, you could read Dietrich’s own words as well, but he LIVED that cost in a way most of us will never have to experience—Praise God! And reading his story—living his story—as it’s presented in these pages is a powerful experience that will never leave me, all the more so for the depth of love that grew between Dietrich and Maria at such a difficult time.
The choices that Dietrich, Maria, and their families had to make will also linger with me. It’s rare to find a story that gives the reader so much cause to consider what it would have been like to have been German and opposed to the Nazi regime. And if there was one thing that came through strongly as I read this novel, it was that there was no easy answer to the question of, “How should we respond?” In fact, the only answer was for each man and woman to prayerfully follow his or her own conscience, regardless of the cost—knowing full well that the cost would be high regardless.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s story is truly remarkable, and I cannot recommend this novel highly enough.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.
About the Author
ECPA best-selling author Amanda Barratt fell in love with writing in grade school when she wrote her first story—a spinoff ofJane Eyre. Now, Amanda writes romantic, historical fiction, penning stories of beauty and brokenness set against the backdrop of bygone eras not so very different from our own. Her novel My Dearest Dietrich: A Novel of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Lost Love,releases from Kregel Publications in June 2019.
She’s also the author of My Heart Belongs in Niagara Falls, New York: Adele’s Journey, as well as seven novellas with Barbour Publishing. Two of her novellas have been finalists in the FHL Reader’s Choice Awards.
Amanda lives in the woods of Michigan with her fabulous family, where she can be found reading way too many books, plotting her next novel, and jotting down imaginary travel itineraries for her dream vacation to Europe.
Excellent review, Katie!
Thank you, Caryl!
I’ll just echo your review of Mr Dearest Dietrich, Katie! Fantastic book! I just finished it tonight, and I know it’s going to take some time to process it and write a review.
It’s definitely one of those books, isn’t it?