Here If You Need Me

By: Kate Braestrup

Narrated by: Kate Braestrup

When the oldest of Kate Braestrup's four children was 10 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. She 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 six-year-old daughter has wandered into the woods, or wardens as they search for a snowmobile rider gone under the 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 this account of her 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.

©2007 Kate Baestrup (P)2007 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Braestrup's insightful essays are extraordinarily well written, mingling elements of police procedural and touching love story with trenchant observations about life and death....always with compassion and a concern for the big questions inescapably provoked by tragic events." ( Publishers Weekly)

Beautiful, Soft, Gentle, Wise

If you need a gentle read in your life right now, this one is warm bath in an audiobook. The prose and the audio are loving.

Interesting

The author has had an interesting life, although a tragedy occurred that ended up being part of the reason her life took the path it did. She sounds like a really nice lady. She did a nice job narrating her own work, as sometimes that doesn’t work out as well. Good listen.

Surviving Death

Get out your hankies. Superb! Here a the 15 required words : I I I I I

Very Enjoyable

I picked up this book and was thrilled with it, it is a wondderful book that is written in a way you come to understand the suthors veiw and it opens deeper meanings to ponder. I recommend it highly, the book is written by a UU minister, but does not come off preachy it comes off as a book written from the heart.

A pleasure to listen to.

Well written and performed. The author's empathy is felt in every word. Her understanding of what makes people tick shines through

As a chaplain, I resonate with this book

What did you love best about Here If You Need Me?

Her honesty and authentic care for those she serves and her humor

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kate herself

Have you listened to any of Kate Braestrup’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the unflenching expression of love by her children after a fire accident. It's all about love.

Soothing and Touching

Kate Braestrup's calm and quirky voice contributes to the profound and comforting message of this book. With light humor and sometimes shockingly real descriptions of death and dying, Braestrup takes us on a tour of the life a recently recently bereaved park chaplain and mom of four kids. Her observations about the afterlife and coping with loss are open-ended and accommodating to a variety of religious viewpoints. I lost my father suddenly in 2007 and I found this to be the most helpful, and most honest book on grief and death that I have read.

Warm and Loving view of Life and Death

Really rich story. The author's sense of humor carries one thru the sad or disturbing bits.

Nice Story

A very nice story and very well read. a lot of heart. It was more an autobiography type work than an account and insight in dealing with pain and loss.

Very personal and moving

Kate took me on an adventure in life…an adventure in the woods and an interesting peek into life in Maine.