Praise for The Great Wherever "This is a truly magnificent novel from a uniquely powerful voice. A bighearted triumph." -- Kirkus (starred review) "A gripping multigenerational epic of land, home, and inheritance. Sanders poses timely questions of ownership and ancestry, and she packs the novel with indelible imagery.This resonates." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A debut novel that is part family saga, part historical fiction, part ghost story, and entirely captivating. Sanders expertly portrays familial relationships, imbuing her characters with pathos and humor as they grapple with the complexities of family legacy." -- Booklist "Sanders is a sublime writer with unparalleled talent.
I could read her writing all day, every day." --Debutiful, The Most Anticipated Debut Books of 2026 "Simply put, this book is a pleasure and a treasure. Witty and wise, intelligent and engaging, heartbreaking and heartmending. Shannon Sanders is a writer to keep your eye on. " --Tayari Jones " The Great Wherever is an epic and deeply human story of family and fortune that reaches across the divide between the living and the dead with grace, humor, and emotional conviction. Shannon Sanders''s love for her characters is matched only by her ability to make us care about them as much as she does. I''m in awe of what she accomplishes in this astoundingly good debut novel." --Patrick Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of Buckeye " The Great Wherever is fertile ground for Shannon Sanders''s vast gifts as a writer.
Dead or alive, righteous or wrong, every one of her Lambs is a singular, beautiful mess, together growing the rich family history she seeds, from page one, with great care, heart, and unyielding humor. By the novel''s end, I felt as dazzled as one of the ancestors at the edge of the pond, in awe of all its beauty and magic." -- Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev "In The Great Wherever, Sanders masterfully bridges generations and yet is still able to home in on her characters'' intricate inner lives. By the end, they all feel like family, and reading their story feels like coming home. Gripping, moving, witty, and wise, this is historical fiction at its finest." --Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, author of On the Rooftop , a Reese''s Book Club pick "What unfolds in The Great Wherever is not a single story but a gathering of them--voices overlapping, correcting, and remembering differently. Shannon Sanders allows those differences to stand, creating a narrative that feels layered, unsettled, and true to the way families actually move through time -- together, but not always in agreement. Sanders writes the Lamb family with enormous care and irresistible vitality; even their ghosts carry vanity, heartbreak, and humor.
An utterly transporting debut." --Essie Chambers, bestselling author of Swift River " The Great Wherever is an arch yet heartwarming tale of family, the ghosts that haunt them, and the place we call home. Between the story''s heartbreaks, we get leaps of humor that made me love every member of the Lamb family, the ones dead and the ones alive. It is rare to root for every character and yet I found myself doing so. What a gift of a book." -- Vanessa Chan, internationally bestselling author of The Storm We Made Praise for Company : "A deftly woven tapestry that scrupulously depicts familial ties and estrangement, richly told with a nuance that allows each character dignity and grace." -- Jonathan Escoffery, The New York Times Book Review "[ Company elligent and engaging, heartbreaking and heartmending. Shannon Sanders is a writer to keep your eye on.
" --Tayari Jones " The Great Wherever is an epic and deeply human story of family and fortune that reaches across the divide between the living and the dead with grace, humor, and emotional conviction. Shannon Sanders''s love for her characters is matched only by her ability to make us care about them as much as she does. I''m in awe of what she accomplishes in this astoundingly good debut novel." --Patrick Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of Buckeye " The Great Wherever is fertile ground for Shannon Sanders''s vast gifts as a writer. Dead or alive, righteous or wrong, every one of her Lambs is a singular, beautiful mess, together growing the rich family history she seeds, from page one, with great care, heart, and unyielding humor. By the novel''s end, I felt as dazzled as one of the ancestors at the edge of the pond, in awe of all its beauty and magic." -- Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev "In The Great Wherever, Sanders masterfully bridges generations and yet is still able to home in on her characters'' intricate inner lives. By the end, they all feel like family, and reading their story feels like coming home.
Gripping, moving, witty, and wise, this is historical fiction at its finest." --Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, author of On the Rooftop , a Reese''s Book Club pick "What unfolds in The Great Wherever is not a single story but a gathering of them--voices overlapping, correcting, and remembering differently. Shannon Sanders allows those differences to stand, creating a narrative that feels layered, unsettled, and true to the way families actually move through time -- together, but not always in agreement. Sanders writes the Lamb family with enormous care and irresistible vitality; even their ghosts carry vanity, heartbreak, and humor. An utterly transporting debut." --Essie Chambers, bestselling author of Swift River " The Great Wherever is an arch yet heartwarming tale of family, the ghosts that haunt them, and the place we call home. Between the story''s heartbreaks, we get leaps of humor that made me love every member of the Lamb family, the ones dead and the ones alive. It is rare to root for every character and yet I found myself doing so.
What a gift of a book." -- Vanessa Chan, internationally bestselling author of The Storm We Made Praise for Company : "A deftly woven tapestry that scrupulously depicts familial ties and estrangement, richly told with a nuance that allows each character dignity and grace." -- Jonathan Escoffery, The New York Times Book Review "[ Company nd magic." -- Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev "In The Great Wherever, Sanders masterfully bridges generations and yet is still able to home in on her characters'' intricate inner lives. By the end, they all feel like family, and reading their story feels like coming home. Gripping, moving, witty, and wise, this is historical fiction at its finest." --Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, author of On the Rooftop , a Reese''s Book Club pick "What unfolds in The Great Wherever is not a single story but a gathering of them--voices overlapping, correcting, and remembering differently. Shannon Sanders allows those differences to stand, creating a narrative that feels layered, unsettled, and true to the way families actually move through time -- together, but not always in agreement.
Sanders writes the Lamb family with enormous care and irresistible vitality; even their ghosts carry vanity, heartbreak, and humor. An utterly transporting debut." --Essie Chambers, bestselling author of Swift River " The Great Wherever is an arch yet heartwarming tale of family, the ghosts that haunt them, and the place we call home. Between the story''s heartbreaks, we get leaps of humor that made me love every member of the Lamb family, the ones dead and the ones alive. It is rare to root for every character and yet I found myself doing so. What a gift of a book." -- Vanessa Chan, internationally bestselling author of The Storm We Made Praise for Company : "A deftly woven tapestry that scrupulously depicts familial ties and estrangement, richly told with a nuance that allows each character dignity and grace." -- Jonathan Escoffery, The New York Times Book Review "[ Company ansporting debut.
" --Essie Chambers, bestselling author of Swift River " The Great Wherever is an arch yet heartwarming tale of family, the ghosts that haunt them, and the place we call home. Between the story''s heartbreaks, we get leaps of humor that made me love every member of the Lamb family, the ones dead and the ones alive. It is rare to root for every character and yet I found myself doing so. What a gift of a book." -- Vanessa Chan, internationally bestselling author of The Storm We Made Praise for Company : "A deftly woven tapestry that scrupulously depicts familial ties and estrangement, richly told with a nuance that allows each character dignity and grace." -- Jonathan Escoffery, The New York Times Book Review "[ Company elligent and engaging, heartbreaking and heartmending. Shannon Sanders is a writer to keep your eye on. " --Tayari Jones " The Great.