co-anchor Today Savannah Guthrie
'In Look For Me There, Luke Russert traverses terrain both physical and deeply personal. On his journey to some of the world's most stunning destinations, he visits the internal places of grief, family, faith, ambition and purposewith intense self-reflection, honesty and courage.'
CNN Chief National Correspondent and host of Insid John King
'One book, two remarkable and compelling journeys. In Look for Me There, Luke Russert puts to the test and beyond any doubt validates - his perhaps unrivaled storytelling DNA. Worth the read just to take a vivid trip around the globe, a colorful, insightful and meticulously detailed travel diary that transports the reader to some of the world's most intriguing cities, hidden corners and fascinating cultures. And with those travels comes a mourning son's poignant and brutally honest personal journey; to process devastating loss and grief, to wrestle with his sense of self and place, with questions of faith and family and to ultimately balance the burden of expectations with the freedom of picking his own path. Look for Me There is bursting with fabulous storytelling, and with valuable life lessons.'
acclaimed journalist and founder of The Sunday Pap Maria Shriver
'A beautiful well-written story of a young man coming into his own, finding his faith and understanding his purpose.'
senior ESPN writer and bestselling author of Pappy Wright Thompson
'This starts as the story of one father and one son, and soon grows into something much deeper and more profound: a meditation on loss, and grief, a search for home, a journey to find a missing hero that leads the author finally back to himself. It is Luke Russert's story but in the end, the main character is you, the reader.'
legendary journalist and author of The Greatest Ge Tom Brokaw
'A rich and compelling account of family, grief and coming of age. Luke Russert turns tragedy into rich lessons of life.'
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Summer of Elin Hilderbrand
'Blown. Away. Luke Russert's story of heartbreaking loss and hard-earned self-discovery captivates from start to finish. This is the memoir of the year, if not the decade.'
coanchor of Today Savannah Guthrie
'In Look for Me There, Luke Russert traverses terrain both physical and deeply personal. On his journey to some of the world's most stunning destinations, he visits the internal places of grief, family, faith, ambition, and purposewith intense self-reflection, honesty, and courage.'
Kirkus Reviews
2023-06-07
Former NBC News correspondent Russert recalls the life of his late father, “America’s most beloved political TV journalist.”
This memoir is a sort of why-are-we-here meditation that sometimes strays into mawkish territory, though it’s certainly well intended. After his father, Tim Russert (1950-2008), fell victim to a heart attack, the author was courted as a kind of dynastic heir. “You have a gift,” said one executive. “You could be a very good presence on air. TV needs more young people.” The author worked for a few years until being pushed to follow his bliss by several guiding voices, including, surprisingly, John Boehner, who, in a profanity-laced (“Shut up, asshole”) bit of tough love, encouraged Russert to hit the road and see the world. The soul-searching that follows is the least interesting part of the book (“Am I trying to show Dad, beyond the grave, that his boy could be like him?”), but the next steps have their moments. The author visited places like Bangkok and Buenos Aires, where he connected with his mother, herself a former correspondent and bon vivant who has a gift for tucking away both her fame and her grief in individual compartments. Russert too easily falls into canned travelogue-speak: “It’s hard to leave Japan. I’ve fallen in love with the country’s decency, its honor, and its order. It’s odd, I suppose, to travel the world, cutting ties with the demands of the past, seeking a free-spirited existence and yet craving the orderliness of Japan.” At his best, the author is aware of his privileged position as a traveler with no apparent limits on time or budget. Thankfully, Russert doesn’t spend too much time feeling sorry for himself, honoring his father’s observation, “Nobody likes a martyr.”
A middling memoir, but those working through grief may find some solace in Russert’s pages.