Who

Kelsey Grammer is an Emmy-winning actor, producer, and director globally known for his iconic portrayal of Dr. Frasier Crane, a role he played across Cheers, Frasier, and Wings for over 20 years.

What

In 1975, Kelsey Grammer’s younger sister, Karen, was murdered. In his book, Kelsey reveals their past, celebrates their youth together, mourns her loss, and unearths his struggle for faith and healing in the decades since her death.

Why

Kelsey says, “Karen is a vibrant, visceral, saturated, honest, ecstatic recounting of my sister’s days until her final desecration. It is not a Grief book. It is a Life book, a celebration of Karen’s life.”

“I wanted to tell Karen’s story and at the same time, include a bit about my life, our life together and the love we shared. It is an unflinching account, raw and punctuated with horror. The words spilled from my mind to my fingers, and into the pages of this book. It poured from days long past, fresh and alive. Fifty years hence, I learned that love, that our love, is forever. It also brought me great Joy. To see her smile again, that was really something. And in hopes it might bring solace to those who have suffered like horrors, that’s in there, too. From a loving brother, I invite you to meet Karen. To know her and remember her with me. Karen.”

& We

…chose Karen because it is a raw, courageous, and deeply moving exploration of grief, healing, and the enduring power of love. Enjoy.

Here’s Your Exclusive Excerpt

Writing about those days has been challenging. It has been cathartic and revealed many things I had forgotten, many things I was unaware of consciously that have been brought forward into conscious knowledge. By this voyage into the unknown, or the undiscovered, there has been healing. And it has opened new avenues of grief.

Karen's story is our story—the family story. Our story is hers. What I know of it I can only suppose but this feels true as I step forward, word by word, into her life and mine and all our lives, not one is written without the sudden realization of a truth beneath it. The story has been left until now, stowed away as if to be released in bits at a later time...a time when it is ripe for telling.

Karen asked me to tell her story. But not until now. I wonder why? I will ask this question several times. The experiences we shared, I only know through my own recollections and not through her eyes, so I will try to serve her as though I am her vision. I am wrestling with a bit of guilt that what's unfolding in this book is more mine than Karen's, in that I am an observer of her life and did not actually live it. This shortcoming is something to acknowledge and let be, I am afraid. There is no way to correct this aspect, my aspect of her life mingled with knowledge I have directly of her and information I imagine she wishes to impart to me now. Or communicate to others.

The lesson of cherishing a life and not lingering on the loss is universal. The question remains: Why now? Are there things Karen knows that she wants me to know? Are there things I know that I do not yet know I know? Are there things I simply don't know, and God knows it's time I did?

No matter what, there are things I am learning that have given me a much deeper comprehension of who I am and how I got here—who Karen and I were and who we became. And there are questions I thought I knew when this started and where to look for answers. But perhaps, more importantly, I am meant to know innocence once more as I did with her. As we did together. Before so much of what we knew and loved together was taken from us by the traffic of life. By inimical energies tilted against us. Taking innocence. Love. Joy.

To know Joy. Again. That Joy.

Excerpted from Karen: A Brother Remembers by Kelsey Grammer. Copyright © 2025 by Kelsey Grammer. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.