Surprising Reality - I couldn't lay this book down | Here If You Need Me: A True Story

This book stayed with me for days...very powerful. | Here If You Need Me: A True Story | Kate Braestrup

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	• Here If You Need Me: A True Story Kate Braestrup Little, Brown and Company, 2007 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 74 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Vivid, moving memoir

Kate Braestrup has every reason to be mad at God. Her husband, a Maine State Trooper, was killed in a car accident, leaving her widowed with four young children. Instead, she took the opposite tack and went to seminary, eventually finding herself as chaplain to the Maine Fish and Game Wardens, accompanying officers throughout the state as they patrol remote areas, arrange search and rescue efforts, and aid lost and injured hikers.

Far from being a "come to Jesus" tale of renewed spirituality, this book shares Braestrup's own struggles with spirituality (I loved the phrase, "I'm religious but not particularly spiritual.") and the dogmatism of her required courses, at the same time sharing a glimpse into the grace and beauty of the wilderness of the Northeast.

Easy to read, moving, enthralling, this book made me respect these men and women in a whole new way.

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Surprising Reality - I couldn't lay this book down

I stumbled on this book at the bookstore as I was looking for a good non-fiction book that was easy to read. Kate's story is about a wife and mother of four whose life is turned upside down when her policeman/husband dies suddenly in an auto accident. She finds an outlet for her own grief by following her husband's dream of becoming a chaplain. Her journey leads her to theology school and instead of being a police chaplain, she becomes a chaplain to the game wardens in Maine as they search for missing persons. Kate uses a few Bible stories in such a refreshing way. My favorite is the story of the ten lepers and what a real miracle is. You will be amazed at the answer! I thought the audio version was a different story when I ordered it but was not disappointed in getting the same story as the author, Kate Braestrup, reads it ... her voice was so soothing and expressive! I recommend both the book and the audio book.

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This book stayed with me for days...very powerful.

I couldn't stop thinking about Kate Baestrup's powerful book for several days. How incredible for her to have such an intimate role in the experiences of families who may be -- or may not be -- struck by tragedy. I was on the edge of my seat several times hoping beyond hope that the child who was lost in the wilderness, or one of the other real life characters lost in the Maine wilderness and chronicled by Kate, would be found.
But There If You Need Me is much more than an adventure book. It sheds light on spiritual truths about life and death with a caring yet totally real sensibility. Kate may be a minister, but she isn't afraid to talk about the saltier side of life, to record the off-color humor of her partners in the Maine Warden service, or admit to her all-too-human frailties. This is a book you'll remember for a long time, and want to come back to for further reading and reflection.

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Dealing With Loss Through a Unique Occupation

By way of revealing and often-humorous anecdotes, Kate tells how her job as a Maine Game Warden Chaplain helps her adjust to widowhood.
This was a very good and thought-provoking narrative. It seemed choppy at first, but all the pieces came together later on and really made sense.

Ten years ago, Kate Braestrup and her husband Drew were enjoying the life they shared together. They had four young children, and Drew, a Maine state trooper, would soon begin training to become a minister as well. Then early one morning Drew left for work and everything changed. On the very roads that he protected every day, an oncoming driver lost control, and Kate lost her husband. Stunned and grieving, Kate decided to continue her husband's dream and became a minister herself. And in that capacity she found a most unusual mission: serving as the minister on search and rescue missions in the Maine woods, giving comfort to people whose loved ones are missing, and to the wardens who sometimes have to deal with awful outcomes. Whether she is with the parents of a 6-year-old girl who had wandered into the woods, with wardens as they search for a snowmobile rider trapped under the ice, or assisting a man whose sister left an infant seat and a suicide note in her car by the side of the road, Braestrup provides solace, understanding, and spiritual guidance when it's needed most. HERE IF YOU NEED ME is the story of Kate Braestrup's remarkable journey from grief to faith to happiness. It is dramatic, funny, deeply moving, and simply unforgettable, an uplifting account about finding God through helping others, and the tale of the small miracles that occur every day when life and love are restored.

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