Review - Marriage and Other Acts of Charity by Kate Braestrup

Title:  MARRIAGE AND OTHER ACTS OF CHARITY
Author:  Kate Braestrup
Publisher: Hachette Audio; Unabridged edition (January 13, 2010)
Genre: memoir
ISBN-10: 1600247784
ISBN-13: 978-1600247781
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Price:  $22.78
Author website

Rating: 4.0

Product Description
In her award-winning memoir Here If You Need Me, Kate Braestrup won the hearts of readers across the country with her deeply moving and deftly humorous stories of faith, hope and family. Now, with her inimitable voice and generous spirit, she turns her attention to the subjects of love and commitment in MARRIAGE AND OTHER ACTS OF CHARITY. As a minister, Kate Braestrup regularly performs weddings. She has also, at 44, been married twice and widowed once, and accordingly has much to say about life after the ceremony.

REVIEW: This is interesting, humorous and thought provoking.  Have you ever realized: 100% of marriages end?  All will end eventually by death or divorce.

In this memoir Ms. Braestrup uses good storytelling to tell about experiences of conflict and commitment in marriage; loss of a spouse and the resulting struggles and fears of further loss;  betrayal of relationships and finally the willingness to allow a second chance at love.  As a chaplain for the Maine Warden Service the author blends in work and scenery details that fit nicely in the flow of her message.  She incorporates counseling and wedding decisions of one of the young game wardens and the divorce dilemma of a fictionalized game warden to help describe the difficulties of love and marriage.

Underlying her narrative is the simple (or not so simple) question “What matters most is ___________.”  She encourages each person to fill in the blank.  The author fills in the blank with “love”.  Not eros (physical) love or philos (brotherly) love,  but agape love which she presents as God’s selfless loving of another as yourself, with sincere caring.

Although Ms. Braestrup is a minister, the book is not religious. She does briefly express some theologies, several of which I personally cannot agree with.  However I did appreciate her conviction of faith and her message of God’s love which was presented in the aspects of relationships and not through preaching.

I was a little disconcerted by her use of some “50 cent” words that even I didn’t know or had to stretch to remember. [I say that because as an undergrad journalist and graduate lawyer I have a pretty extensive vocabulary. I even read through the dictionary and encyclopedia in my early teens - not that I remember all of that! I used to love to do the Reader Digest word matching.]  Some of the words she uses are just not everyday language.  Fortunately most of that is in the first disc and does not fill the book.

This audio book is read by the author in a smooth and expressive manner.  It is laced with humor and pathos.  I really enjoyed the easy style and chuckled out loud several times.  It presents engaging storytelling that affirms love and marriage.

xxx

This book was provided by Hachette for review and Giveaway.  Thank you Hachette and Valerie.