Here If You Need Me

A True Story

by Kate Braestrup

When Kate Braestrup's husband, a Maine state trooper, was suddenly killed, she became a Unitarian minister. Since dealing with her own loss, Braestrup has learned how to provide solace and comfort for dozens of others who have suffered personal tragedy, among them a couple whose six-year-old daughter wandered away into the woods and a man coping with his sister's suicide. Her wise, wry, thoughtful, and surprisingly funny memoir delves into death, nature, and God, but also a myriad of minor but equally fascinating topics. Her writing and thinking have a singular power and beauty.

Editions of Here If You Need Me

ISBN

9780316066303

Binding/Format

Hardcover

Publisher

Little Brown & Co

Date

2007

Price

$1.00

Good

Publisher Notes

Documents the story of the author's decision to pursue her husband's ambition to become a minister after his tragic accidental death, an endeavor for which she eventually became a spiritual counselor for families with missing loved ones during search-and-rescue missions.

Synopses

Ten years ago, writer 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 Universalist minister herself, and in that capacity she found a most unusual mission: serving as the chaplain on search and rescue missions in the Maine woods, giving comfort to people whose loved ones are missing, and to the game wardens who sometimes have to deal with awful outcomes. This is the story of Braestrup's journey from grief to faith to happiness, an uplifting account about finding God through helping others.--From publisher description.

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