Stephanie S. reviewed on 1/17/2015 + 168 more book reviews

This is the author's true account of what led her into the ministry. Her husband, a state trooper in Maine, always dreamed of entering the ministry "one day". After his unexpected death, as a way to cope with her grief, she decided to take his place in seminary school and eventually became chaplain for search and rescue teams in the Maine woods. It is the perfect venue to explore her core theme of where is God in the midst of tradgedy?

Her story alters between her home life (she and her 4 young children struggling to come to terms with their loss, anecdotes funny and sad) and her work life (which also ranges from happy to sad: wandering-off children found alive and well, or retrieving the corpses of suicides and accidents--and counseling the loved ones through all). I especially appreciated her realization that, of course, she would always miss and mourn for her lost husband, but that in truth, her "second life" as a chaplain led her to friends and experiences (and a very purposeful and rewarding life) she would never have had should he have lived. That is powerful in its simplicity.

Her writing is tender and wry and very engrossing. I am glad I picked this one up.

***1/2 Three and a half stars!

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