( 54 reviews )
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Posted: Aug 6 2009
Braestrup covers an amazing amount of territory in this short, extremely readable book. I was taken with her philosophies of life, death, religion, and law enforcement. She tells her story with great sensitivity and a twang of Maine humor, even in the face of some pretty grisly details.
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Posted: Jul 13 2009
This wonderful insightful book ranks right up there on top as one of more thought provoking books I've read. It was easy to read. I had to highlight certain lines in the book as thoughts I will always refer back to in times of need. It definately had a mother's sense of humor. I would recommend it in a heart beat!
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Posted: Jul 1 2009
"Where is God in this?" is that all-important question the faithful ask when tragedy occurs, and is what propels Braestrup's memoir. A Unitarian Universalist minister for the Maine Warden Service and widowed mother of 4, Braestrup's stark prose and frank descriptions of death and decay may turn some readers off, but her perspective on life, love, and loss is a new angle and hits hard. Frustrated with church cliches (aren't we all?!) and not particularly relgious herself, writer Braestrup took up her husband's dream of becoming a minister after he lost his life while serving as a Maine state trooper. As she completes seminary and ministers to others facing trauma and loss, Braestrup clarifies her theological stance on suffering: God is love. God does not will suffering and death. To find God in tragedy, find the love--the kindness of others, the small acts, the support and empathy--which are reflections of God's nature. Kate Braestrup is a brave woman for writing this book, and I feel somehow a bit braver after reading it.
