Karen

A Brother Remembers

De: Kelsey Grammer

Narrado por: Kelsey Grammer

One of Oprah Daily’s Most Anticipated Books of 2025

People’s Best Books of May 2025

On July 1, 1975, Kelsey Grammer’s younger sister, eighteen-year-old Karen Grammer, was raped and murdered. In Karen, Kelsey reveals their past, celebrates their youth together, mourns her loss, and unearths his struggle for faith and healing in the decades since her death.

Karen by Kelsey Grammer delves into the tragic story of the author’s sister, Karen, who was brutally murdered at the age of eighteen. Kelsey was just twenty years old when his younger sister, a recent high school graduate, moved to Colorado Springs, where she was kidnapped by several men who had intended to rob the Red Lobster where she worked. They instead kidnapped Karen, raped her, and ultimately stabbed her to death.

Through this memoir, Grammer poignantly recounts the memories of his sister and the impact her loss had on his life and family. With raw honesty, Grammer explores the profound grief and devastation that followed Karen’s death, as well as the long and arduous journey toward healing. He bravely confronts the pain of losing a loved one to senseless violence, offering Listeners a glimpse into the complexities of coping with such a profound loss.

Karen also serves as a testament to Grammer’s lifelong journey with grief and his struggle to defeat the sting of death with the memory of a life filled with joy—irreplaceable joy. In sharing his story, Grammer aims to help others who have experienced similar loss, offering solace and encouragement to cherish the love they knew, however brief, on their own path toward healing.

This book is a moving tribute to Karen and the brother’s love that survives her.

Photos and legal documents can be found in the audiobook companion PDF download.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2025 Kelsey Grammer (P)2025 Harper Select

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Grammer’s tender portrait of his sister as a sensitive, intelligent soul goes a long way toward correcting the record, and his vacillation between rawness and composure on the page is enormously affecting.” – Publishers Weekly

Heartbreaking & Heartfelt

What an incredible tribute to a wonderful sister & to love. Kelsey Grammar’s memory is astounding and his heartfelt read brought me to tears multiple times (as it did him). A story of grace, healing, love, & kindness. What a great book!

Understanding that Karen was with the Lord, in her final moments. What did you like to sleep?

I enjoyed the relationship between Kelsey and his sister Karen. This was a powerful book, and it helped me understand.how hard it is to lose someone that you love so much.

Brother’s devotion to murdered sister

I went to PC school with Kelsey and Karen. I knew them the best in 8th grade. I graduated with exceptionally talented Kelsey. My sister was in school with Karen at Palm Cove. This book fleshes out his loss of his grandfather, sister, father, step brothers, grandmother and mother. Despite all this loss Kelsey was able to go on and have a marvelous career, a life partner and 7 children.
I feel like I laughed and cried with Kelsey on every page. Kelsey’s magnificent love for Karen, his family and God are on every page. There’s so much pain but also joy. I’m so glad Kelsey wrote this to set himself free from survivor’s guilt and his total helplessness to have done anything for Karen at the time of her death.
“To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” That gives me so much comfort about death and hope it comforts Kelsey.

Choppy at best

I struggled with this book. I did feel horrible for Kelsey and his family though I did not feel like Karen’s story was told. He was all over the place and though we were a part of his thoughts, a story, Karen’s story, was not ever told with any consistency. I made it half way through the book and realized that I still did not know much about Karen. I had to stop listening.

His honest gut level dealing with the topic

Everything about it. It is an honor to read I admire his courage and love

The title should have been Kelsey

The book was good, but the title was misleading. Maybe a fourth of the book was actually about Karen, while the rest was about Kelsey, and that's okay if the book was titled that. There was very little about Karen herself or her tragic murder.

Disappointed

It's very long and very sad. It's tough to listen to for 13+ hours.

Very self-serving

Outing someone else to have an abortion and really blaming it on her in his own little way way too religious

Who is Karen?

Mostly the book is about Kelsey Grammer! There’s not much about his sister. Unbelievably dull. I would not recommended this book at all, well, unless you need help falling asleep. So boring. I love him as an actor, but I feel completely duped by the title! It’s about his dull life growing up. He should have written about why he got kicked out of Juilliard, probably a better story. Sorry Frazier.