Very interesting story that covers the death of Grammars sister. It is something I hadn’t known about and was shocked to discover. The details were interesting and surprising to unearth as the novel continued to cast its tale.

Initially I liked this, because Grammer's narration is done in an extremely emotional way, making you feel connected to him almost immediately. However, he's very clearly a 60 year old white man in his writing, and I couldn't handle how he portrayed women. Also, his opinion on the death penalty was brought up too many times for me, a defense attorney, to be comfortable with. Wasn't worth the time, so I DNFed 15% in

This book was so surprising to me. I had not know much about the actor and the story of his sister but I could feel the pain he still carries. You look at celebrities and just assume their lives are prefect. I thank Kelsey for wanting to keep her memory alive. Also, he has a wonderful voice well suited for narration.

#Karen #Netgalley

Kelsey Grammer has the perfect voice for narration! That alone will make you want to listen to this one!

I found the story slightly disjointed and it jumped around a bit. But given the subject matter, as well as the fact that writing this book very clearly was a therapeutic experience for him, it made sense. Grief is evident this whole book, but he also does a good job of showing the person Karen was apart from the tragedy.

Great true crime real world novel in a story I didn't know much about if anything and hearing from such a personal voice expanded my world

I listened to the audiobook and while Kelsey does a great job as the narrator, I didn’t love the book. Part of it felt like it was written as Karen’s story but so much more felt like it was the Kelsey show. I think this would have been better touted as his life story that also included his sister’s as well because that’s how it felt it ended up. This was a very emotional read and I know this had to hard to write and especially self narrate.

Trigger warning: this review mentions rape, murder, grief, abortion.

This is a hard review to write. I don’t like to rate memoirs negatively, especially one about such a difficult subject, however this is my honest opinion.

The book promises to be a poignant tribute to Kelsey Grammer’s younger sister Karen, who was tragically and brutally raped and murdered in 1975, aged 18. I had no knowledge of Grammer’s past and was appalled to find out his family had been through such trauma.

I knew the book would likely be a difficult and emotional read; indeed, when Grammer speaks of his sister, it is. He does not shy away from the details, nor his anger and devastation that surrounds them. He speaks of Karen with tenderness and it’s clear there was a great deal of love between them.

The predominant issue with the book is that Karen barely gets a mention. Instead, the book is a rambling stream of consciousness with no obvious structure or relevance.

The way Grammer talks about women is unpleasant. Men are introduced in relation to their accomplishments and the respect Grammer has for them. Women are introduced with a description of their anatomy, and often whether or not they had sex.

He discusses an abortion his ex had that he later regretted. Considering his ex has since passed away, I found the way he spoke about it distasteful. He apologises to her family and hopes discussing it is okay with them. I would have hoped he’d made sure of that beforehand.

The audiobook is narrated by Grammer himself and he is generally accomplished in doing so. However, when he discusses difficult subjects, he frequently breaks down. He then immediately returns to normal voice without pause or indication of needing any recovery. I’m not sure if this was an editing decision or if it was him acting but it came across as disingenuous.

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me and it became my first ever DNF. A real shame, it had great potential.

Thank you to very much to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for my gifted copy.

Oh this book just melted me. Kelsey, you wrote such a beautiful story. I felt every emotion reading this. It was absolutely fabulous

DNF'ed this book at 50%.
The physical book is easier to read because you don't hear Grammer's voice. His narration just shows how pompous he really is.
There were great moments where he talked about his sister and their life together, and that's what I came for. He even claimed that a medium channeling Karen told him to write her story. But this book isn't her story. It's Grammer not taking any responsibility for his actions and giving shout-outs and fake apologies.
Halfway through, I couldn't take it anymore. I am so sorry Karen; this is not the book you wanted.

I think there are definitely people who would really like this book, but I ended up DNF'ing. It's not necessarily that I thought it was bad, it just wasn't quite for me. I got through 36% of it and didn't feel I could stay captivated in it for another 64% - the book just felt a little too long. I think that is partially because the writing style was definitely more of a stream of consciousness writing instead of structured so the back and forth and repetitiveness was getting to be a little uncomfortable for me. It was also a bit off-putting that the book seemed to be, at least through almost 40% of the book, more about Kelsey rather than his sister. I think it was a great way for him to be able to go through his grief, and I'm sure there's people that can relate, but I would've liked to know a little more about Karen.

I will note that I did appreciate it being read by Kelsey Grammer. I think it was interesting to be able to hear his emotions while reading.

Kelsey Grammer delineates his sister's life and murder. Karen was and continues to be loved by Grammer. This narrative demonstrates a tragic, grief remembrance: the story is nonlinear and recalled via Grammer's connections to events, sounds, and places. I read some reviews that stated this narrative was not well crafted, but I disagree. I studied life-writing in my graduate Literature classes, and this narrative is well edited and organized. Grief is not linear. Memory is not linear. We recall our lives based upon our moods, environments, and purpose. Grammer honors Karen by demonstrating her importance to him, to his family, and to her friends. He recalls a story about Karen during their childhood, which leads him to discuss family, belonging, and pride. This thought leads to Grammer wishing Karen was present during other life events he wished he could have shared with her. This is normal life-writing; moreover, it is typical for grief and memory. I am honored to have read this book.

I also listened to the audiobook. Grammer provides a thoughtful reading of his narrative.

Thank you #NetGalley for my ARC; this review is my honest opinion.

Reading Karen by Kelsey Grammer, I really enjoyed his meandering style of remembrance. The book bounces around and that is just how our minds work. It can be hard to follow at times, but you catch up fast, and his charming and insightful delivery keep the narrative flowing.

Through this memoir, Grammer poignantly recounts the memories of his sister and the impact her loss had on his life and family. With raw honesty, Grammer explores the profound grief and devastation that followed Karen's death.

Thank you for the opportunity to review. I enjoyed this immensely. As a huge Kelsey Grammer fan, I thought I knew everything, including the story of his sister. Boy, was I wrong. It’s a completely different experience hearing it come straight for Kelsey himself.

Y’all know I hate to leave a book before it’s finished (what if it gets better?) but I’m 44% through the audiobook and I just. Can. Not. Listen. Anymore. Having lost my own sister, I was interested in hearing this story. While I’m hoping this was cathartic for Kelsey, it should not have been published. It’s beyond stream of thought; he corrects himself throughout and acknowledges that he’s being repetitive.

For diehard fans, maybe this is for you. Be aware that he’s misogynistic and makes judgements of the readers who don’t agree with his stance on abortion or what should happen to Karen’s killer. (I disagree with one and don’t feel strongly about the other. It’s not his view that I’m referring to but his callous judgement of anyone who disagrees with his position.)

DNF

Unfortunately this one was not for me. I wanted to like it and kept trying on audio, but Grammer's stream of consciousness style was too much (or I guess I should say too little structure) for me.
He defends it as his way of sharing the story, but to me it feels like it is a journal that would never be made into a book if it weren't for his fame.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio ARC.

This was billed as a true crime memoir - Kelsey Grammer telling the story of his sister's brutal murder and his journey to come to grips with his grief. I have a huge amount of empathy for Grammer - his pain and emotions are palpable in his narration of this audiobook, even though the murder took place decades ago. He shares his experiences of remembering the events surrounding the murder and his attempts to learn more about what happened. The storytelling is very much stream-of-consciousness. Unfortunately, as a book, this didn't really come together for me. It's very repetitive ("Karen was beautiful, I miss her so much" was repeated over and over in every chapter), and it seems as though Kelsey put to paper anything that popped into his head when he was thinking about his sister and then just left it that way, focusing much more on himself than on Karen's story. I was surprised to learn that Kelsey Grammer was raised in the Christian Science church, and he seems to have a strong faith. However, this faith does not seem to offer him a path to forgiveness or healing when it comes to his sister's killer, and the trauma seems to be unresolved, just as the story remains unresolved for the readers. A ghostwriter or a better editor would have made this a more readable book. It was difficult to get through and ultimately, I would not recommend this.

First, I will start off saying that I am a huge fan of Kelsey Grammer, so that will impact my review. If you are a fan of Kelsey Grammer, I think this is a great book to understand him, his sister, his life, and his mind and heart better. Let me also state, I don't know that this would be a good book to read, but it is an amazing one to listen to. I listened to the audio and absolutely loved it.

Before writing my review, I did read some of the other reviews, especially those with low ratings, and I was very surprised by the reviews, especially by those who listened to the audiobook like I did. The audiobook is the best because it is read by the author and he has the most amazing voice in general, but when you hear him tell the story there is so much more to it.

I am going to address some of the issues other readers had with the book: First, some did not like the writing style. Personally, I loved it. It was conversational. If you want to feel like you are listening to Kelsey talk about his sister and his life, this is the book for you. You almost feel like you are listening to a friend. Some didn't like that it was not in chronological order, but again, it is conversational, and it is told in a very conversational way. I liked when he would mention something and then come back to it, that happens with friends. You might hear the same story again, each time there is a new facet to the story.

Some people also said that he didn't talk enough about his sister with one reviewer saying that he should have called the book "Kelsey." Ouch. I think that it does talk quite a bit about his sister and his love for her. There is not a single minute of this book where you cannot feel the love he has for his sister and the grief he has felt every day since she was killed. If only we could all be loved so much.

Others said that he either focused too much on spirituality and religion and others said it wasn't enough. I thought it was raw and real. He talked about his Christian beliefs while also seemingly contradicting them while talking about speaking to a medium who said she could contact Karen. I think this shows the depth of grief that he has. It is very real. You can be as Christian as ever and still want some sort of sign after the death of a loved one. And sometimes there are things that you can't explain. I felt so connected to him as I read this and I had experienced some of the same things after the death of a friend.

It sounds cliche, but this book made me laugh and made me cry. It was a beautiful book that makes you feel like you are friends with Kelsey and hearing him tell you the story of the loss of his sister and how he lived on, but never fully whole. I really humanizes an actor who we often view as larger than life.

I felt so bad for him when he said someone had once told him that he hadn't had that hard of a life. He has been blessed in so many ways, but I know I would not want to endure the losses that he has endured. He has been blessed, but he has still had a hard life and overcame so much grief.

I highly recommend the audiobook. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio ARC. And thank you to Kelsey Grammer for opening his heart and his life to us. It was a tragic story beautifully told.

I struggled a bit with this one. It sounded so intriguing at first. I had no idea what happened to Kelsey Grammar’s sister. But it just felt so disorganized and about him more so than just his sister. (Which wasn’t a bad thing but it didn’t keep my attention as much.) It also just felt a little too long, and had too much rambling.

A devastating account of the loss of Grammer's sister, Karen. This was a tough read. The audio is done by Grammer and his emotion is so evident after so many years. A beautiful tribute to Karen.