About Drew
Big questions. Small-town Alabama.
Who I am
I’m Drew Tolbert — an Alabama author (currently living in Pell City) writing essays, fiction, and stories about meaning, memory, belief, and the strange ways people make sense of the world.
I grew up here. I still live here. And most of what I write is shaped by small towns, ordinary conversations, and the moments where people quietly realize that the story they’ve been telling themselves might not be the whole story.
What I write
I write in a few different forms, but they all come from the same place: curiosity about why we believe what we believe.
- Essays — Thoughtful, accessible writing about meaning, misunderstanding,
faith, science, and everyday assumptions we rarely stop to examine. - Fiction — Clean, character-driven stories often with a time-travel or speculative edge grounded in small-town life and big consequences.
- Humor & Observations — Pieces that don’t fit neatly anywhere else,
usually shaped by growing up (and still living) in Alabama.
Sometimes those lanes overlap. Sometimes they don’t. That’s intentional.
Why I write
I’m less interested in telling people what to think and more interested in helping people notice how they think.
Many of my essays explore moments where faith and science are treated as enemies, even when they’re often talking past each other. Others focus on how meaning is assigned to places, ideas, traditions, or even stories, and how easily those meanings are misunderstood.
Fiction lets me explore those same questions without the guardrails of an argument. Stories can go places essays can’t.
Books
I’m the author of Under the Oak Tree, Leaving the Oak Tree, and Beyond the Oak Tree a time–travel–inflected coming-of-age series rooted in memory, choice, and consequence.
These stories grew out of the same questions that drive my essays, just told through characters instead of arguments.
Speaking
I also speak to churches, schools, and organizations about belief, meaning,
and navigating a confusing world without losing clarity or compassion.
My talks pull from storytelling, lived experience, and the same themes found in my writing.
If you’re new here
If you’re not sure where to begin, the best place is the Start Here page.
It’ll point you toward essays, fiction, or something lighter, depending on what you’re in the mood for.