Love Me When I'm Gone

The True Story of Life, Love and Loss for a Green Beret in Post-9/11 War

By: Robert Patrick Lewis

Narrated by: Robert Patrick Lewis

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Love Me When I'm Gone is a tale for the ages, the perfect blend of action, romance, heroes, villains, patriotism, and valor. What holds this story above all others is the fact that this one is true.

Rob had a pretty rough childhood: He was given up for adoption as an infant, brought into a family of highly decorated military men, suffered the loss of his mother to cancer, rebelled, and landed himself in military school.

When he finally returns home, he meets Cindy, who quickly becomes his best friend. After graduation the two go off to college at opposite ends of Texas, and their paths diverge.

Eight years later, when Rob returns home from SERE school and being a POW in the cold North Carolina woods, he wakes up one morning to discover that Cindy has contacted him on Myspace. He is very surprised, as he has been searching for Cindy for the past few years to no avail. The two reunite to spend his month of leave together, both knowing at the end he will be leaving for the illustrious 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), the elite Battalion of Green Berets stationed in Germany for quick-reaction missions around the globe. The two share a heart-felt goodbye at the airport, each hoping that somehow they can find a way to keep their love alive throug whatever the future has in store for this newly crowned Green Beret.

Rob's time in Germany is a whirlwind. In his first trip to Iraq, he encounters three distinct situations which will haunt him for the rest of his life. At HAVE-ACE, the Special Operations school which he attends with his team, he finally becomes one of the gang. In Africa, Rob learns many valuable lessons about life. In Afghanistan he and his team are tested in many life-or-death situations, including Operation Payback, where he and the Captain are wounded in a sustained firefight in the middle of a village.

The culmination of the story is the quintessential fairy-tale ending: Rob moves back to California to spend the rest of his days, and the final chapter is the full military wedding, complete with his teammates as groomsman and sword bearers.

©2012 Robert Patrick Lewis (P)2012 Robert Patrick Lewis

911 war for the us

This lays out why the military men and women responded to the 911 attack. The energy and supreme sacrifice is very well presented in this book.

Home from hell,back to heaven

Good story, did not care for the reader,it seemed very flat,hard for me to stay into the story,

Good Read!!

The storyline and overall context were amazing. Makes you appreciate everything you have, be thankful for who you have in your life. Makes you appreciate the men and women who are serving and are part of a greater cause, fighting for the freedom of this nation and thankful for all the sacrifices they have made. Informational, educational and very good read. I would suggest this book to anyone and everyone if you are not into war books or anything in this sort.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

The man's words in his own voice.

I loved it! You get to hear the man's story in his own voice. Powerful... Inspiring... Awesome!!!

Good book on love and war but I've read better

Would you consider the audio edition of Love Me When I'm Gone to be better than the print version?

I usually listen to audio versions of books because it fits my lifestyle. It has been a long time since I've read a printed version.

Would you recommend Love Me When I'm Gone to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, I would recommend it but I would probably recommend others first like "Lone Survivior, American Sniper, Unbroken, No Easy Day and Outlaw Platoon."

Which character – as performed by Robert Patrick Lewis – was your favorite?

I had no favorites

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

HUA!!!!

Great story...my hats off to Robert Lewis for sharing the world he experienced through the eyes of one of American's elite warfighters doing what the they do best...HUAAAA!

Well worth it!!!

This is by far one of the best books I have read/listened too. I started listening to this book and I did not want to stop. Great storyline I like how he kept it going from chapter to chapter. It takes you through a roller coaster of emotions. The narration was great very enthusiastic. I would recommend this book to all my friends and family!!!

Great 'read'

Would you listen to Love Me When I'm Gone again? Why?

The author narrates it which I feel just adds to the richness of a title... you just get a better experience when the author reads it to you.

The book starts off how you'd expect, Rob gives you a brief rundown of his life leading up to his time in ODA 002. He then gives good accounts of some training experiences as well as some deployments. To say anymore would be to ruin the book, definiteily pick up a copy in your favorite medium!

Memories

What made the experience of listening to Love Me When I'm Gone the most enjoyable?

If you have ever served or wonder what it is like read this. Remember that no matter what our military is made up of people either like you or someone that you knew. As I read this it brought back many memories from my 14 years of service. Those were some awesome times. Yes things were not always (usually) the best. It was the brotherhood that kept me going.

What did you like best about this story?

realistic

Special Forces member's autobiography

Where does Love Me When I'm Gone rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Robert Lewis is very easy to listen to. I've listened to another of his books ("The Pact"), which was also a super listen.

Any additional comments?

This book would make a really good movie. Rather than being merely a war story told by a special forces warrior, it is a story of the human drama of a young man who is a warrior in the true sense of the word far away from the love of his life. The story told is gripping and touching at the same time. Mr. Lewis doesn't pull any punches either in his description of the war in Afghanistan as he experienced it - or in the challenges he faced when he returned home. I would definitely recommend this book - particularly to people who have experienced war themselves or have loved ones who have.