Name: Look for Me There
Rating: 3.5 (246 reviews)
Author: Luke Russert

What’s in it for me? Discover a story about grief, transformation, and the many ways to lead a meaningful life.

On June 13, 2008, Luke Russert received one of those unexpected phone calls that turn your world upside down. His father’s assistant – she was the one on the phone – would only say his father had fainted and they were trying to contact Luke’s mother.

But Luke knew his father Tim Russert, the NBC News stalwart. They’d all been in Rome together just two days before, and Tim had flown home to shoot an episode of his show. And he was not someone likely to faint. Luke suspected his dad was dead.

He was right.

Anyone who’s lost a loved one can imagine what Luke and his mother went through. But their lost one was also famous, well-respected and widely beloved. They couldn’t grieve uninterrupted – an outpouring of condolences and grief washed over them from people around the nation, both comforting and exhausting.

What followed for Luke was a decade of hard work, followed by years of travel and discovery. Along the way, he realized he’d been struggling to discover who he was and what a meaningful life looked like for him. In this Blink, we’ll trace Russert’s journey and see what lessons he learned along the way.

The Background

What’s your family legacy?

Luke Russert’s is one of hard work and the American Dream. Luke’s grandpa worked tirelessly as a garbage man to provide his son, Tim, with better opportunities than he had. Then Tim worked tirelessly himself, and became a legend in the journalism world. Luke felt the pressure of his father and grandfather’s legacies and wanted to prove himself worthy of the privilege his dad worked hard to provide him with.

Luke’s mother was also a well-respected journalist and activist. More free-spirited than Luke’s father, she was nonetheless harder on Luke. She wasn’t impressed by good grades or accomplishments – they were expected. Luke resented his mother because of it, even as he loved her.

When Tim died of a heart attack, family, friends and fans alike attended the wake. Luke delivered the eulogy to an audience that included John McCain, Barack Obama and Ethel Kennedy. Toward the end of his speech, he heard his father’s voice in his head, giving him encouragement and telling him to ‘bring it home.’

But when the remembrances finally wrapped up, Luke wasn’t sure where to turn next.

The Work

Have you ever been scared to face your feelings? Shoved them away? Sometimes we don’t realize we’ve done so until later, when we build up the courage to face ourselves. That’s what happened to Luke after his father’s death.

Luke threw himself into work less than three months after his father passed. He received offers from various networks, and decided to accept a contract at NBC, his father’s network for sixteen years.

The Exploration

Some people jump in the deep end when doing something new, while others dip a toe in first.

Luke was one to start modestly, with a solo road trip through Maine. It was his first foray into exploring the world on his own and something he’d never done before – just drifting. No plans, no timeline. No company but himself and his pug, no purpose but exploring.

The Revelation

Have you ever taken a risk, unafraid of the outcome, because you knew it was the right thing to do?

That’s just how Luke felt as he approached the border of Israel. He’d heard of troubles people sometimes had crossing the border. He saw many guards – some younger even than him – carrying military rifles at the border. But he wasn’t afraid because he knew he was meant to be there.

Key ideas in Look for Me There