Kate Braestrup, chaplain for the Maine Warden Service, writes in her second book about marriage and love. As a chaplain she counsels a young couple who want to get married and listens to a game warden who fears he is headed for a porce.
She marvels that anyone wants to get married considering that one out of two marriages fail. But people keep hoping, keep falling in love, and keep getting married. She also reminds us that 100 percent of our relationships end, be they with friends, family or spouses.
When asked to talk about sexuality and reproduction to her daughter’s eighth grade class, Braestrup talks about sex, but mainly about love and the three different kinds of love: eros, philos, and agape (agape being the kind closest to God’s love). From agape came our word for charity, a selfless, unconditional love. And Kate tells them that this is how we should love our spouses, our families, our friends and our enemies.
She relates how she and her husband used to fight every day, and how their anger affected their children. They went to marriage counseling. When she realized that her love for Drew was what mattered most, then her thinking and actions changed. They stopped their daily fighting and grew closer.
Kate weaves stories of her family and friends into her writing about marriage and love. A young widow with four children, she eventually does start seeing someone, and ultimately she and Simon marry and combine their families.
She writes with humor and compassion about her life and the lives she witnesses. This is an interesting book written by a woman who is a wife, mom and chaplain, and who has some thought-provoking ideas about marriage and other acts of charity.
Author: Braestrup, Kate
Title: Marriage and Other Acts of Charity: A Memoir
Date: 2010
Pages: 217
