In Here If You Need Me, I sensed immediately that I was in the hands of an authentic voice - of an authentic human being. Kate Braestrup's story, and the straight-forward prose in which she tells it, brought me to tears in one paragraph and made me laugh out loud in the next. This is one of the best memoirs I've ever read.”
-Anita Shreve

Braestrup's insightful essays are extraordinarily well written, mingling elements of police procedural and touching love story with trenchant observations about life and death…with compassion and a concern for the big questions inescapably provoked by tragic events.”
-PW (starred review)

Braestrup reveals herself as a woman of remarkable poise and wit… Her voice throughout the memoir bleeds with genuineness and fragility… The stories tighten the throat and weight the gut - the pages at times blur when the reader's tears come too steadily - but Braestrup skillfully balances the details of her anguish with a sense of humor so uplifting that even though Here If You Need Me has tragedy at its root, it's ultimately quite hopeful… What makes this work moving is that Braestrup is not speaking in absolute terms of some vague, far-off concept; instead, she disrobes the details of her own intimate grief, and for that, we trust her, we believe her, and we believe, therefore, in her unbelievable hope.”
-Bangor Daily News

Beautiful and brave.”
-Glamour

Here if You Need Me is Kate's simply told, often funny true story about the transformative power of faith.”
-Redbook

Kate Braestrup writes movingly, and with humor, about how she coped when her state trooper husband died in a car crash - by taking on a mission that she never imagined.”
-Readers Digest (Editors Choice)

A poignant, funny book by a sympathetic, likable, immensely appealing figure.”
-Booklist

Comforts those facing their darkest hours. She'll comfort you, too.”
-Good Housekeeping

It makes a good story, almost too good… It's not required that you share Braestrup's faith to be moved by her struggle to maintain it. She is not a soul saver or a pulpit pounder. She is merely a fellow searcher - more tenderhearted (and funnier) than most - looking for hope in those frosty Maine woods, along with everything else that has been lost there.”
-Time

Although laced with tragedy, the book is breezy and humorous - and uplifting.”
-Jerry Harkavy, Boston Globe

Here If You Need Me is the perfect title for this book, so rich in warmth and humanity in the myriad faces of tragedy… Kate Braestrup's search for her place in the world is an inspiration and a joy, a graceful parable of what can happen when human beings stand side by side, steadfast and strong for one another in times of trouble and joy.”
Susan Larson, New Orleans Times-Picayune

Braestrup has fulfilled her mission to tell her - and her husband's - unusual story in a loving and captivating way.”
Jacqueline Blais, USA Today

A-. Extraordinary. [Braestrup] writes with affecting gravity about the everyday horrors she encounters. This witty, middle-aged Maine minister has a calm, earthy authority all her own.”
Jennifer Reese, EW

This is a marvelous true story. You'll laugh and you'll cry - sometimes at the same story.”
Vicki Rock, Daily America

Scenes of search and rescue as gripping as any police thriller are juxtaposed here with tender, revealing sketches of domestic life in a family shaken but not shattered by sorrow. On the job, Braestrup, “a sort of generic, ecumenical clergyperson,” serves as a comforting sounding board for men and women in a stressful profession. While they search, she rescues, holding everyone together with her warmhearted common sense and offering a modest prayer whether the crisis ends well or ill. Her role as both memoirist and minister is to ponder why bad things happen to good people and, as a grieving widow, to accept that death comes for its own reasons and on its own schedule. This she does affectingly, with style and grace.”
Amanda Heller, Boston Globe

Even the most jaded secularist would fall for the chaplain of the Maine Warden Service.”
Karen Schechner, Cleveland Plain-Dealer

[Braestrup] is a very good writer, equally persuasive in describing the pitfalls of teaching her children about love and loss and the adventures thrust upon her by her unique chaplaincy. She has a flinty, almost raw 'life's like that' sense of humor… and she is able to blend it seamlessly with an incredible gift for sensitivity and compassion… Here If You Need Me is absolutely, totally, sometimes awesomely real. I can almost guarantee that you will not buy just one copy of this book - it must be shared.”
David Foster, The Beachcomber

For Braestrup, comforting others becomes a way to heal her own grief, and her spiritual journey is a moving part of this wry, intelligent memoir.”
Maura Christopher, Ladies Home Journal

Can be read as a superbly crafted memoir of love, loss, grief, hope and the complex subtleties of faith. Or it can be read as the journey of a strong-minded, warmhearted woman through tragedy to grace… [Braestrup is] remarkable, steady, peaceful and wise.”
Jane Ciabattari, Washington Post

Inspirational in the best sense… [Here If You Need Me] resounds with one woman's belief that caring is sacred and helping is holy.”
Sherryl Connelly, Daily News

A. Braestrup writes great truths simply and easily… Love story, theological reflections, heartwarming family yarns and more all intersect under Braestrup's nurturing hand. This would be an excellent gift for a friend who is fighting a life-threatening illness or who has recently lost a loved one. Cheerful and sure, this chatty, breezy little book is a soothing balm… Next book, please, Chaplain Braestrup!”
Sarah Peasley, Rocky Mountain News

Here If You Need Me is an honest, endearing account of a life rerouted after devastating loss… Braestrup knows how to tell a good story - the angel is in the details.”
Kimberly Marlowe Hartnett, Seattle Times