The award-winning author of "Here If You Need Me" turns her attention to the subjects of love and committment, proving once again why her writing i...
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Mar 18, 2011
Angelina
rated it: 
Rev. Kate's latest book is also my least favorite, which is to say, I think she may need to find some new material, and I am a little raw from the feelings it stirred up.
I still love her conversational style, her message of love and acceptance, and the way she embraces her faults. I liked the addition of the Q & A section, and, as with the first two books, I reached the end with a burning desire to be better, love more, and accept the ones I love for the treasures they are.
T More...
I still love her conversational style, her message of love and acceptance, and the way she embraces her faults. I liked the addition of the Q & A section, and, as with the first two books, I reached the end with a burning desire to be better, love more, and accept the ones I love for the treasures they are.
T More...
Jan 28, 2011
Linda
rated it: 
I thoroughly enjoyed Braestrup's first book Here If You Need Me and hoped she would continue with the insightful and beautiful writing. I was not disappointed.
Braestrup is a Unitarian Universalist minister/chaplain who works with the Maine warden service. Tragicially, suddenly widowed in 1996 when her policeman husband was killed in an accident, she was left to raise four children from ages 3-9.
This latest book is a testimony of the difficulty of committed, loving relationshi More...
Braestrup is a Unitarian Universalist minister/chaplain who works with the Maine warden service. Tragicially, suddenly widowed in 1996 when her policeman husband was killed in an accident, she was left to raise four children from ages 3-9.
This latest book is a testimony of the difficulty of committed, loving relationshi More...
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Jun 01, 2010
Braestrup wrote the NYT bestseller Here If You Need Me after the death of her Maine warden husband; her essays of faith, hope and family dealt withhow she coped with her loss. In Marriage and Other Acts of Charity, Braestrup (a Unitarian Universalist chaplain for the Maine Warden Service) follows up with stories of love, including hers that led to her marrying again. I did not read Here If You Need Me but I can imagine it. Braestrup's writing voice is pretty distinctive and it's OK but it's not
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Feb 24, 2010
Chelsea
rated it:
I was not as impressed by this one as by Braestrup's first, but I still enjoyed the read.
I mentioned in my review of Here If You Need Me that one of the things I liked about it was that she didn't force a strong narrative, but rather let the story of losing her husband and becoming a chaplain flow naturally. She attempted the same style in this one, but it didn't work quite as well. The loss of her first husband was a strong unifying theme that was lacking in this one - marriage, as More...
I mentioned in my review of Here If You Need Me that one of the things I liked about it was that she didn't force a strong narrative, but rather let the story of losing her husband and becoming a chaplain flow naturally. She attempted the same style in this one, but it didn't work quite as well. The loss of her first husband was a strong unifying theme that was lacking in this one - marriage, as More...
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Jul 11, 2011
Songbird
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I'm a big fan of Kate Braestrup's. We both live in Maine, but we've never met, despite some near misses and one email exchange. I'm looking forward to hearing her speak at a panel on marriage offered by Bangor Theological Seminary this fall. She'll present alongside Marvin Ellison, professor of Christian Ethics and author of "Same-Sex Marriage," which is on my "to read" list.
Not surprisingly, I approached a book on marriage cautiously. I've just been burned, and I must More...
Not surprisingly, I approached a book on marriage cautiously. I've just been burned, and I must More...
Mar 31, 2010
Bridget
rated it:
I had wanted to read Kate Braestrup's earlier book, "Here If You Need Me," after seeing her interviewed on several TV shows shortly after it was published. But, being me, I never thought of looking for it when I went to the library or bookstore.
So when I saw this book at the library, I decided to give it a go. This is Braestrup's stories and musings not just about marriage, but about what love is - all types of love, not just married or romantic love. It's a series of More...
So when I saw this book at the library, I decided to give it a go. This is Braestrup's stories and musings not just about marriage, but about what love is - all types of love, not just married or romantic love. It's a series of More...
Apr 22, 2010
Mary
rated it:
I listened to the audiobook read by the author. Kate Braestrup's gentle, reassuring voice tells the story of her first marriage and what happened after.
Near the end of the book Braestrup repeats something her father told her: If an experience is good, it's good. If an experience is bad, it'll make a terrific story. That's what this memoir is. We hear the good but also the bad and how Braestrup came through the experiences. She is now the chaplain for the Maine Warden Service where s More...
Near the end of the book Braestrup repeats something her father told her: If an experience is good, it's good. If an experience is bad, it'll make a terrific story. That's what this memoir is. We hear the good but also the bad and how Braestrup came through the experiences. She is now the chaplain for the Maine Warden Service where s More...
Feb 16, 2010
Alison
rated it:
"'And you want us to actually say 'till death do us part'?" Melanie asked carefully.
..."Look at it this way," I said, "Being parted by death is actually your best-case scenario. Being parted by death is what happens if a marriage works.'"
Kate Braestrup is a minister and the Chaplain to the Maine Warden Service. Part of her duties as a minister is to perform weddings, and counsel those who wish to be married. Using her experiences from her own marri More...
Jan 22, 2010
MattA
rated it: 
Kate Braestrup is a talented author. I enjoyed the her previous book of essays, Here If You Need Me, but this effort was wanting. The title indicates a focus on marriage, but I found the book's direction to be meandering at best. In theory a meandering direction isn't fatal to a book's readability, but there generally has to be some thread of continuity, and this book didn't seem to have one. Even within chapters the style was disconnected, with passages several paragraphs long being inserte
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May 06, 2010
Adele
rated it:
(Audioversion.) Okay I’ve just become a big Braestrup fan. This is one I got from the library that I’m going to buy in print and re-read. Listening to her was like sitting down with a wonderful friend. I read her first memoir when it came out and liked it well enough. This one adds to that, it is really a gem. Read by the author, you really get a feel for how tender, thoughtful and connected she is, as she tells in bits and pieces how she is haphazardly going on with her life as the mother
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Mar 12, 2010
Bridget
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Kate is constantly telling the couples remember their wedding vows and love each other even when it isn't easy. She is an ordained minister and wants to let everyone know that there are three different kinds of love.
Kate has known her own marital heartache, mourning her husband who was killed in a car crash. Her marriage wasn't perfect, she and her husband actually went to a marriage counselor. Sometimes you need someone on the outside looking in to give you a clearer picture o More...
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May 20, 2010
Danielle
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This didn't live up to the praise that was heaped on the author for her previous memoir, Here if You Need Me. It was okay, and may be great for you if you're underappreciating your spouse, or not realizing that love in any relationship is the true source of joy in this life, but this book was far from offering any life-altering revelations that might make it worth the read. I was particularly put off by her version of christianity (with a lower-case 'c'), which embodied the scripture "Havin
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Nov 27, 2011
Sylvia
rated it:
Braestrup has an engaging writing style and message, not to mention a good sense of humor. But sometimes, especially towards the end of the book, I got kind of tired of her talking about herself so much. I realize the book is a memoir, but still. Also, I felt a wee bit uncomfortable about her writing so many stories about her children, who have to be in the world along with everyone else, and who might appreciate a bit more anonymity. (I would, if I were her child.) It's the same dilemma I have
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Feb 12, 2010
Betty410
rated it:
I really liked Kate's first memoir (and you should read it first)"Here if you need me" which sets the scene for this one which comes next in her life. She writes from personal experience as well as that from the heart of a Unitarian and Chaplain to the Maine Warden Service (where she consouls the men of the Forest service)
In the first book she becomes a widow with 4 children and becomes a minister and in this one she remarries a man wiht 2 children so there is a lot of reference More...
In the first book she becomes a widow with 4 children and becomes a minister and in this one she remarries a man wiht 2 children so there is a lot of reference More...
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Jul 16, 2011
Laura
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Not a book I would have picked up on my own, but following a stellar review from Songbird, thought I should read it. Glad I did. Braestrup frames issues such as marriage, abuse, fidelity in a way that it all goes back to Love. She argues that marriage is not a "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" proposition; it goes back to Love, always Love. But Love allows a participant in the marriage to protect him or herself as well, if protection is necessary. For some reason, the idea t
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Feb 01, 2011
Jacqie
rated it:
Here's my review from my other incarnation as Old Firehouse Books:
Read this one for our February nonfiction book club. I think this will be a good discussion book, although I had mixed feelings on it. What made me think: the idea that what is most important to you is your version of God, what marriage vows really mean, the idea that ALL relationships will end, one way or the other.
I found the author to be a bit inauthentically self-deprecating. I didn't end up liking her much. May More...
Read this one for our February nonfiction book club. I think this will be a good discussion book, although I had mixed feelings on it. What made me think: the idea that what is most important to you is your version of God, what marriage vows really mean, the idea that ALL relationships will end, one way or the other.
I found the author to be a bit inauthentically self-deprecating. I didn't end up liking her much. May More...
Jan 13, 2010
Charlotte
rated it:
I want to be Kate Braestrup's friend. At the very least I want to sit at her feet and listen to her talk for hours upon end. Her kindness, her compassion, her humanity resonates through every word of her new book, Marriage, and Other Acts of Charity. Which, by the way, is the perfect book for Newlyweds to read.
In Kate's (yes, I feel comfortable enough to call the author by her first name) first book, Here If You Need Me you get to see her inner strength as she talks about her journey More...
In Kate's (yes, I feel comfortable enough to call the author by her first name) first book, Here If You Need Me you get to see her inner strength as she talks about her journey More...
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Dec 28, 2010
Karendale2
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Wow, I thought the book was going to be about marriage and it was, but there was a lot of other good stuff. I listened to this as a CD audio book narrated by the author.
Kate is a Chaplain with the Maine warden patrol. So the focus is religion but in a benign way. The spirit of her life, the life of her children,her husband who died too soon, and her subsequent relationship with Simeon
There are many poignant observations in the small details of life. I remember thinking why I More...
Kate is a Chaplain with the Maine warden patrol. So the focus is religion but in a benign way. The spirit of her life, the life of her children,her husband who died too soon, and her subsequent relationship with Simeon
There are many poignant observations in the small details of life. I remember thinking why I More...
Jan 31, 2011
Old
rated it:
Read this one for our February nonfiction book club. I think this will be a good discussion book, although I had mixed feelings on it. What made me think: the idea that what is most important to you is your version of God, what marriage vows really mean, the idea that ALL relationships will end, one way or the other.
I found the author to be a bit inauthentically self-deprecating. I didn't end up liking her much. Maybe a bit too heavy on the religious angle.
And although she did More...
I found the author to be a bit inauthentically self-deprecating. I didn't end up liking her much. Maybe a bit too heavy on the religious angle.
And although she did More...
Jun 22, 2010
Catherine
rated it:
I love this book - love the humor and kindness that radiates from every page, and love that in Braestrup's hands something as specific as the concept of marriage becomes a means to enter into a much larger discussion of what love is and means in human society. I relish Braestrup's honestly - that she details her own fears, the epic fights she had with her own husband, and has a sense of humor about her college know-it-all-ness - because I see so much of myself in her descriptions of being young
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Jul 08, 2010
Kerry
rated it:
Not the most moving or gripping of memoirs available, but one with enough insight, humor and poignancy to make it worth the read. Any pastor that can write with such honesty about her own beliefs, struggles, successes and failures should be praised, and if reading about Braestrup's mission to "love more" can convince just one person to be just a little bit kinder, than I believe she would think her mission complete.
Read the full review at Entomology of a Bookworm More...
Read the full review at Entomology of a Bookworm More...
Apr 22, 2010
Mary
rated it:
I listened to the audiobook read by the author. Kate Braestrup's gentle, reassuring voice tells the story of her first marriage and what happened after.
Near the end of the book Braestrup repeats something her father told her: If an experience is good, it's good. If an experience is bad, it'll make a terrific story. That's what this memoir is. We hear the good but also the bad and how Braestrup came through the experiences. She is now the chaplain for the Maine Warden Service where s More...
Near the end of the book Braestrup repeats something her father told her: If an experience is good, it's good. If an experience is bad, it'll make a terrific story. That's what this memoir is. We hear the good but also the bad and how Braestrup came through the experiences. She is now the chaplain for the Maine Warden Service where s More...
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May 18, 2010
Sonja
rated it:
This set of short biographical essay are concerned with difficulties of loving those whom we are with on a daily basis, and what comfort she has taken in spirituality in both this daily struggle and in the time after she was widowed. Braestrup seems to be a less wacky version of Anne Lamott: there's a certain messiness to her life that is both appealing and humorous while at the same time making me feel more together than I probably should. Occasional very interesting points of insight, but a lo
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May 21, 2010
Heidi
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This book had a profound affect on me. Kate is very easy to relate with... I feel like she's someone I would enjoy sitting around with sharing a cup of coffee. Not Starbucks. The kind of coffee that is brewed in the shop, as in the big tin shed the DNR guys hang out in. As I read, I kept thinking that her thoughts, ideas, and views were so similar to mind, if not exactly mine. Religion - she's right on from my perspective and has such a fabulous way of writing about the necessity of love. Love t
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Jan 10, 2012
Jennifer
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From My Blog...[return][return]Marriage, mother-adult child relationships, parenting and friendship are a few touchstones in Kate Braestrup's memoir Marriage and Other Acts of Charity. As a minister, Kate has the pleasure to meet with a lot of couples prior to marriage and has learned a lot about love and marriage over the years. According to Kate her desire to minister and her knowledge of marriage stemmed from her first marriage. Drew and Kate loved each other and yet had difficulty communicat
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Jun 09, 2010
JaNeise
rated it:
An interesting, maybe a little quirky, non-member perspective on marriage. It had a couple of powerful and thought provoking moments. A couple of quotes that I found meaningful: "If you are intent on becoming a truly loving person, learn to aplogize. Love means having to say you're sorry over, and over and over....."
"Love more. Start with your siblings, or your spouse, or your parents, but don't stop there. Love whoever needs what you have; love the ones who have More...
"Love more. Start with your siblings, or your spouse, or your parents, but don't stop there. Love whoever needs what you have; love the ones who have More...
May 25, 2011
Carolyn
rated it:
Definitely not another tedious discussion of relationships and spirituality, although both are explored. Braestrup confronts difficult & heartwrenching events with humor and understanding. I laughed and cried at her stories. One of my favorite parts: a look at the ability of teenage children to completely dismiss the importance of their parents. Even Jesus did it - and she backs that up with scripture. Another highlight: her sex ed class in her children's middle school. Just imagine!
Aug 22, 2010
Mary Frances
rated it:
I found this book surprisingly meaningful and thoughtful, from a woman who overcame her sorrow at being widowed young and became a minister and chaplain. Got it from the library but will buy for my counseling and spiritual "bookshelves" . She has a lot to say about the meaning of marriage and love, and I was moved and also wish I were in Maine so I could become a friend of the author. Her insights about what makes marriages work or fail, about men, about the way women love, and about s
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Jan 03, 2012
Holly
rated it:
I picked this up at the library because I liked the title. I came away from the book feeling like I just got to know somebody really well. I did not learn anything new and it didn't change me, I just made a new friend in Kate Braestrup.
I didn't always agree with Braestrup, especially sad for me (as I believe it is possible to have an eternal marraige), was this following point of view
"'And you want us to actually say 'till death do us part'?" Melanie asked care More...
I didn't always agree with Braestrup, especially sad for me (as I believe it is possible to have an eternal marraige), was this following point of view
"'And you want us to actually say 'till death do us part'?" Melanie asked care More...
May 31, 2010
Lynette
rated it:
This book was a gift for my birthday and provided a lovely reminder of the important work we do in our most cherished relationships. Kate Braestrup, the author, is a Unitarian Universalist minister in Maine and is also the author of Here if You Need Me, the book the launched her writing career. She is a chaplain for the Maine Warden Service and writes about her experiences ministering to the people who serve those who experience tragedy and challenge in the wilds.
