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    Here If You Need Me: A Memoir
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    Here If You Need Me: A Memoir
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    Here If You Need Me: A Memoir
    Audiobook5 hours

    Here If You Need Me: A Memoir

    Published by Hachette Audio

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    When the oldest of Kate Braestrup's four children was ten years old, her husband, a Maine state trooper, was killed in a car accident. Stunned and grieving, she decided to pursue her husband's dream of becoming a Unitarian minister, and eventually began working with the Maine Game Warden Service, which conducts the state's search and rescue operations when people go missing in the wilderness.


    Whether she is with parents whose 6-year-old daughter has wandered into the woods, or wardens as they search for a snowmobile rider gone under ice, or a man whose sister left an infant seat and a suicide note in her car by the side of the road, Braestrup provides solace, comfort, and spiritual guidance when it's needed most. And she comes to discover that giving comfort is both a high calling and a precious gift.


    In her account of her own life and the events of her unusual job, sometimes joyful, sometimes heartbreaking, Braestrup is warm, unsentimental ("No one is immune to the Plucky Widow story!" she acknowledges), and generous. HERE IF YOU NEED ME is a funny, frank, and deeply moving story of faith and hope.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateAug 1, 2007
    ISBN9781594839306
    Unavailable
    Here If You Need Me: A Memoir

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    Reviews for Here If You Need Me

    4/5

    285 ratings39 reviews

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    • 4/5
      At first, I thought the book was about law enforcement officers and the journey of what they find in remote places. Quickly consuming every page, I just couldn't put it down! The writings of this brilliant author are superb and satisfying to the listening ear. It's Kate's story of life and death, loss and restoration. The word crafting is monumental and universal. One can relate to grieving the loss of a family member and then immediately chuckle with remembering the up and down journey of raising four children while holding down a full-time job. I have been to Thomaston, Maine and have found the pacing of this story moves you to visualize the deep blues and greens of such breath-taking environmental scenes. When your mind, heart, and soul find rest within the pages, perhaps you'll hear the call of the loons comforting you with Kate's perspective and wisdom on God's sovereignty and ones surrender to life's difficult questions like, "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?" My favorite line, "A miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude."
    • 5/5
      I honestly did not want this book to end. I think that is because each story put me in contact with love. The book is packed with love. There is intense sorrow and joy and lots of humor. Braestrup writes descriptions that seem to bring me right into the scenes with many surprising bit that are exactly how things really are, but are just not expected to be seen in writing. She has experienced a lot that is so interesting and meaningful. She writes these stories so incredibly well. She puts things together making a whole of all the parts. She seems to have a habit of looking for the love in situations and she shares that in this book in such a wonderfully readable and understandable way. I'll read this one again for sure.
    • 2/5
      Just not my sort of book. Know it's much loved by many. Quit after a few chapters.
    • 4/5
      What a wonderful book! A quick read, but moving and thought provoking. I admire her strength and honesty, and she has a terrific sense of humor, too. I literally laughed and cried reading this one.
    • 4/5
      An easy read, although Braestrup's stories of ministering to Game Wardens as they search for missing people in the Maine woods aren't always easy to hear. I appreciated Braestrup's humor and theology--both down-to-earth and refreshing.
    • 5/5
      Kate Braestrup has written a fine memoir of her path to becoming the Chaplain of the Maine State Warden Service (the game wardens). A Unitarian Universalist, Braestrup went to seminary after her Maine State Trooper husband was killed in a car crash. At first she said she was fulfilling his dream because he could not, but she soon realized that she had found her calling. With earthy humor and deep empathy in equal portions, Braestrup tells what it's like to be on the scene at search and rescue operations, both when the rescue is successful and when it isn't. She also shows a deep love and respect for her brothers and sisters in law enforcement. When this book came out, of course it was widely publicized here in Maine, but it's not just a "Maine book," a "clergy" book, or a "widow's" book. It's a human book, and almost anyone would be better off for reading it.
    • 4/5
      This book was heartening & affirming. Despite beginning with a death, it ends on a miracle. That sort of trajectory is welcome & timely, especially during the holiday season.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. Kate Braestrup lives a life that is so different from mine - it was so interesting to read about how she spends her days. I really enjoyed learning about her duties as the chaplain for the Maine Game wardens. I don't read many books that have religion as a focal point and certainly not many books that reference scripture now and again in the text of the book - but I found her to be charming and her use of scripture to underlie different points felt natural and not all pedantic or cumbersome. Braestrup is a person who is surprisingly full of quirks but she is also so full of empathy that she really does seem like just the sort of person who would be so invaluable in crisis situation. I liked this book and I liked Kate Braestrup.
    • 5/5
      Kate Braestrup, one of the first chaplains ever appointed to the Maine Warden Service, only became a chaplain after her husband, a Maine state trooper, was killed in a freak auto accident. It had been his intention to become a Unitarian Universalist chaplain when he retired from active police work, so following his dream, she enrolled in Bangor Theological Seminary, and was eventually ordained to the ministry.Her exquisitely written memoir entwines a portrait of widowhood with the story of the Maine Warden service and presents the reader with a hopeful, vibrant, and uplifting story. Using altered names and locations, she relates stories of searches for missing persons-both young and old; rescues and recoveries of those trapped below the ice or lost in the vast Maine wilderness; and heart-wrenching scenes of notify next-of-kin about deaths. Throughout, she weaves stories of helping her four young children progress to young adulthood. The story of learning that her son could play drums, and hearing him in the band at school, was such a delight--any mother who has ever raised a teenager through the band phase of life will be able to relate easily.Her explanations and stories about the Maine warden service are exceptionally informative. Many people don't realize that Maine game wardens have law enforcement duties in addition to tending to Maine's gorgeous wildlife and scenery. The image of this petite woman with her clerical collar and keflar vest under her LL Bean jacket brought a giant smile.She offers her insights not only from the perspective of "chaplain" but from that of wife, mother, friend, and member of the law enforcement community. It is not a long book, but it is one to be re-read and savored. It brings hope with the tears, soothing with anxiety....just what one would expect from a chaplain.
    • 4/5
      well worth the read, a unique perspective on service to others and how moments of grace can be witnessed with your next door neighbor, someone you've never met, and anyone in between.
    • 3/5
      This book frustrated me. I don't understand how you can become a chaplain and not believe in Heaven and Hell. How can she believe that when you die you cease to exist. The fact that this was the job her husband wanted to do does not qualify her to take over. I enjoyed reading about the cases that she dealt with but didn't agree with any of her religious ideas and for me they ruined a majority of the book.
    • 4/5
      A beautifully-written memoir by Kate Braestrup, chaplain to the Maine Wardens Service. In her role as chaplain, Braestrup provides support at search-and-rescue operations, and has a front-row view of one of the most difficult experiences a person can go through: waiting for news, not knowing if a loved one is alive or dead, injured or whole. She also talks about the toll these searches take on the wardens. Braestrup's writing conveys her acceptance of the mistakes that lead to these situations, and her respect for the strength that sustains those who wait. She has the wisdom of those who have lived through hardship themselves, combined with the humor of those who recognize the tragedy in life, but enjoy it anyway.Braestrup is a widow, and jokes about the "plucky widow story" that is the hook in almost every story about her, but her own loss and grief add great authenticity and depth to this story. She writes about the year after her husband, Drew's, death in a car accident, honest about the days when she went back to bed because she just didn't have the heart to do anything else, but also about the friends and neighbors who fed her and her children for months, who took care of her house and yard, and held her when she needed it. Here if You Need Me is inspirational, but never, NEVER preachy. It brought tears to my eyes, and also made me laugh out loud. It deals with the "big questions" of life, but recognizes that the answers are usually found in the small details of everyday life: children squabbling and then laughing, a brilliant sunset after a rainy day, the miracle of regular people caring and loving each other. I heartily recommend it.
    • 4/5
      My friend told me about this author and I was hooked from the very beginning of Braestrup's story. The first couple of chapters are tear-jerkers, as she reflects on the effects of the death of her husband on her and their children. However, readers get glimpses of love all around as the community cares for this family and Braestrup is led to become a chaplain for the local game wardens (law enforcement), due to her husband's involvement prior to his death. I'm in the middle of her next memoir and am looking forward to another one set to be published this year.
    • 5/5
      This book is a gem! It is sad, it is poignant, it is heartwarming, it is spiritual in a deep abiding way without the trappings of New Age mantras and without the heavy handed preachy manner of well-intended, but misguided organized religion.Kate Braestrup blesses the reader by allowing them to walk with her on the journey beginning with the day her beloved state trouper husband was tragically killed in an auto accident, leaving her and four children to grieve, to find lessons and to move forward in life.As her life dramatically changed, Kate became a Maine Game Warden Service Chaplain and a Unitarian-Universalist minister. Through wonderful, crisp, heart felt writing, Braestrup takes us with her into the lives of those who rescue, who search the cold woods, frozen lakes and Maine environment to find those lost as she ministers to the families, to the brave people who help and to simply be there both when the outcome is good and when the hoped for result does not occur.The prevailing theme of loss is woven with the abundant hope of gain, of falling down and of getting up, and, of searching and sometimes finding what is least expected.
    • 4/5
      She has a deft touch recounting the humorous and the tragic, the profound and that which eludes our best guesses at meaning. Some recognizable moments of ministry, though the setting/context is quite different.
    • 4/5
      This is a thought-provoking but funny piece of writing. Braestrup uses the death of her husband, her grief, and her new career as a Unitarian-Universalist minister serving as chaplain of the Maine Game Warden Service to illustrate her belief that God is love. Followers of any other religion will probably find ideas with which to argue but the author clearly has such a giving heart that it's impossible to dislike her, even if you don't agree with her. The writing style is challenging - bits of her home life are parsed with bits of her work life to ultimately make a point - and some readers in my book club felt she didn't include enough detail about her kids or new husband but the point of the book is less memoir and more testifying to a nonjudgmental, all-inclusive view of God and religion. She does include graphic details of death but always toward providing the reader with a new experience - preparing a body for cremation, death in the woods, the dangers faced by search and rescue personnel, etc.
    • 5/5
      This book is surprisingly easy to read since it is a portrait of grief, faith and coping with loss and uncertainty, both that of the author and of others she encounters in the course of her work. I look forward to more of her work. Rev. Braestrup's writing style is spare but all the more effective for not belaboring her points.
    • 3/5
      Lovely little book, I read it in one sitting. A very interesting calling, to be a chaplain with the search-and-rescue workers..I thought a chaplain would be solely for the victims and their families, but I learned that it is as important for her to be there for the workers themselves. Not too preachy, but I skimmed over some of the more religious ponderings. Some laugh-out-loud moments as well. I enjoyed this uplifting book.
    • 4/5
      I liked this book but it got repetitive the last third. Overall, I found it inspiring. Kate has amazing strength and wisdom and I enjoyed learning about the benefits a chaplain can bring to game wardens and the people they serve. Kate is a Unitarian Universalist (and so am I) and I appreciated the way the she was respectful of and able to authentically serve people of all faiths.
    • 4/5
      An extremely nice read, with plenty of humur to moderate the grief and light religious ponderings. Breastrup has a wonderful voice - someone I would love to meet. The book stimulated lots of conversation in our book club.
    • 3/5
      Great story, just a bit much on the religion end for me.
    • 5/5
      This is a wonderful book -- highly recommended!
    • 3/5
      by Kate BraestrupThis book was not quite what I expected. Knowing that Kate Braestrup was a minister, I still expected the book to be about Kate and her life as a single mother with an extraordinary career as minister to the Game Wardens in Maine. And so it was, more or less.The book is chock full of bible references and quotations. Too full in my opinion. While the book is written in a charming and easy going way, and Kate and her family and friends are portrayed in what you know is a real and even amusing way, the Bible references become intrusive.I wanted more of Kate! I kept hoping that th next chapter would have more about her experiences in the Maine woods and as a single mom. Clearly she is an amazing and down to earth woman. Obviously her job leads her into difficult and fascinating situation. She uses a self deprecating approach to describing herself in situations that is often endearing.All too often, what I found was more of the Bible. What I missed in purchasing this book was what became all to obvious in the end, the title is a double entendre. What I took as She would be there if needed by the wardens, and her family was true, but I believe that it also means that God is there for all of us.Finally, the ending came to quickly. I felt that I was swooped from the middle of her story, to her current life all too quickly. It felt almost as if she woke one morning feeling as if she had done enough writing and and basically wrote that they all live happily ever after.I am not anti-religion at all, I am just a reader who is somewhat disappointed in a book that I had looked forward to reading.
    • 5/5
      A lovely little memoir. This book reminds us that wherever you see compassion, empathy and love you see God. Rev. Braestrup writes with insight and humor. Her sense of decency serves as a reminder to us all about the best way to live. Also wanted to make note that it is refreshing to read a current memoir where the writer is an adult writing about her adult life.
    • 5/5
      There's really nothing more powerful than getting a look inside someone else's struggle with the big questions. That's what Braestrup gives us in this book; she doesn't claim to have the answers, but she speaks well to the things she's found out for herself so far.It's an incredible gift to have been given.
    • 5/5
      This book really burrowed deep in my heart. I loved the author's outlook on life and death and her ways of sharing love and pain so honestly, allowing her children their own ways to deal with life and the loss of their father. A beautiful story; I found this book this summer as a pre-pub and have read it 4 times.
    • 4/5
      When Kate Braestrup's husband was killed in a car accident, she decided to adopt his dream of going to seminary school. She ended up taking a job as a chaplain for the game wardens in Maine. In this memoir, Kate tells about the process of dealing with her grief and dealing with others' grief in her job. It's very touching, sad in parts (but never depressing) and funny in parts. I really enjoyed learning more about a career that I didn't know existed (I knew they had chaplains in hospitals, but who knew they had them for game wardens?). It was interesting to see things through the eyes of someone who's job it is to be there for people, to be the shoulder for people to lean on. An interesting and poignant memoir.
    • 3/5
      This was worth reading, but not one of my favorties. I enjoyed the author's attitude toward life and death and religious issues.
    • 5/5
      Lovely. Just lovely. And the closing was brilliant: the Almighty must have smiled, first time He heard it.
    • 5/5
      very engaging memoir - a way to remind those of us who deal in human suffering every day how to look for the love in every situation.