I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Rescuer: One Firefighter’s Story of Courage, Darkness, and the Relentless Love That Saved Him by Jason Sautel with D.R. Jacobsen is a deeply personal story from someone who spends much of his life on the frontline. Many of us cannot fathom how life is for someone who puts themselves in harms way day after day to save others. The author shares the realities of his life as a fireman and paramedic. While doing so he opens his soul to the world.

The stories that Sautel tells are far beyond what we see on Chicago Fire or any television show portraying rescue personnel. For this author each call is personal even though he may have never seen those he saved again or be able to give his condolences to the family members he couldn’t save. What is unique about this book is that Sautel blends much of his work and personal life together in his stories.
Sautel tells how his upbringing affected his adult life leaving him feeling dark and worthless despite the incredibly important work he chose to do. He devoted his life to his work because for the most part his life felt empty.

The one person who gives him much joy is his niece who encourages him to find Mrs. Right. When she visits him for a week, his life changes for the better. He meets a woman who accepts him for who he is and lifts him out of his deep despair. How they meet and their bonding will delight and bring encouragement to readers. Ultimately, the author proves that one can be rescued to when they open themselves to love.

I enjoyed reading this book very much and will definitely to recommend this book to my friends and family who seek to gain more insight into the life of a front line worker while seeing how easily love grows when we allow others to see our real selves.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Thomas Nelson the publishing company and also Jason Sautel. I was very excited to be approved to read this wonderful book and give my feedback. I am a firefighter's wife, I knew going into the book some of the terminology, the closeness of brother and sisterhood of being a part of a family such as the fire department. It's amazing!
Reading Jason's stories was heart wrenching, I myself have not seen these type of incidents but I know my husband has and I know how the calls can weigh on his heart. He has been a part of the fire department for over 34 years. He has seen all kinds of things, things we don't discuss because of the nature of the calls. Like Jason I can see in my husbands eyes how this very rewarding but yet heart wrenching job can cause stress, depression etc . I call Jason a hero just as I call my husband a hero. Firemen and women do not see themselves as a hero. To them it's saving lives and helping others. This story warmed my heart and my heart went out to Jason. Reading his struggles through life was eye opening but he is a true hero. I was rooting for Jason throughout the whole book. It was a true page turner for me. Not wanting to give away too much I'm so happy that at the ending of the book Jason fights his demons and finds happiness., The book made me cry, made me smile and left a warm feeling inside. I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to read this wonderful book. Once published I will be buying my husband and stepsons this book. My stepsons are both firefighter and I believe they would truly enjoy and appreciate Jason's story. Thank you Jason for sharing your life with us.

Well, you know it’s not good when we start out… I really hate to ding an author especially when they’ve poured themselves into a book but… this was not good. It has the potential to be an incredible story but I feel like I read the rough draft before any editor touched it. The merging of past and present repeatedly was like car crashes coming out of nowhere. It has powerful emotional possibilities but it badly needs someone to step in and reorganize the writing. The writing style is very immature with no true sense of self-reflection considering the book is marketed as someone aware they were in need of rescue. I sincerely hope the publisher considers reorganizing this book.

#TheRescuer #NetGalley