Luke Russert on his new book "Look for Me There"

now can you put this cup over your head no why because I haven't won it that's right only those who win the cup can put it over their head but you can sure give it a hug thank you my assistant Mr Lou cresser oh so sweet that was long time Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert with his son Luke in the wake of Tim's death in 2008 Luke followed in his Father's Footsteps to become an emmy-winning journalist at NBC news but after eight years working in news Luke went on a different path and his new book has all the details on that it's called look for me there grieving my father finding myself and he writes about his three-year Journey to Find himself traveling to 67 countries including Cambodia Senegal and Nepal Luke Russert joins us now Luke thank you so much for being here um it's a it's an honor and a thrill and your EP told me don't be a robot so I'll do my best that's Shawna laughing in the distance there uh the big cheese around here I can't imagine you could possibly be a robot uh the book is terrific I knew you were good on TV I didn't know you were such a good writer uh the title meet me there or look for me there comes from a moment between you and your father at a baseball game you're a little boy and I say this to my kids he says if if we get separated he points to a place meet me there and you and he says but of course we'll never get separated and that was one of those things where I was trying to come up with a title and it was clear that in the journey I was looking for something searching for something but then I also just remembered those words of hey look for me there look for me there and he did that so many times whether it was after a rock concert or a baseball game and there's still places in in Washington DC where he would pick me up from that I'll drive by and I'll see and I tear up because I can see his silhouette there just waiting for me the details it's uh it's really heartwarming but it's that reassuring note he hits as a father saying but don't worry son you know we'll never be separated and then of course the tragedy of that separation coming way too soon you're 22 years old and suddenly you're speaking eulogy what's that transition like for your life and that journey to put you on three Tony how about the audience in the US oh my God John McCain yes the president three weeks out of college uh father passes away and I'm this sort of happy go lucky free-spirited kid going around Europe traveling with my mom at the time and girlfriend at the time and I get that call and immediately I go into a mood of a motive I got a duty to perform I have to honor dad I have to do that to the best of my abilities so I gave that eulogy which launched me out like a rocket but in in doing that and going into that church and looking out and seeing John McCain Barack Obama Ethel Kennedy Joe Biden all there I realized okay I'm trying to hold on to this flame and preserve it to the best of my abilities and in doing that I never really was looking Inward and thinking hey 22 year old Luke your dad your best friend he's gone yeah how are you doing with that I didn't think about it for years until I started traveling and I got out of the news business and that's something I regret I wish we could go back to that young kid and say Hey you really should have a moment to yourself to try and at least understand the ramifications of all that's occurred and who knew Luke the pressure you were facing going into the news business you're following your rock star dad you were doing a very good job but who knew that you weren't so happy while you were doing this and you decided I got to stop back from this travel the world and find myself and then after traveling it seems like you still didn't find yourself I was very private and I would put forward a very uh sense of sort of jocular bravado I internalized everything I didn't want to let anyone know that I wasn't doing okay at moments there was one time I referenced in the capital where I was so anxious that I I fell over and I was able to hold myself up on the wall and somebody saw it and they go are you okay and I said oh well these are just new dress shoes I I slipped that wasn't true but I felt very uncomfortable being vulnerable because if I was vulnerable in some way then I wasn't upholding my father's Legacy my grandfather worked two jobs for 40 years as a garbage man in a newspaper delivery man my dad barely I think missed one two days of work his entire career always played through pain and and whatnot so I sort of felt that sense of oh you have to do this you have to do this there's people who have so much worse off than you yeah um but then came to the realization is man my Dad loved me so much he wouldn't want me to feel this thing you know how I feel this way and and go explore that a little bit and you did and then but then you have a come to Jesus meeting with your mom your mom very respected journalist yeah Maureen Orris after you've been traveling well you've been to many countries and you know on this Quest and she says okay enough yeah enough do something get a job start working it's a mother it must have been a very painful conversation it's hard because I had sought this freedom and for a long time for at least the first year or so it was so welcome and I really needed it I needed it to be away from those types of responsibilities she encouraged you and she encouraged it at the beginning but as a mother has they have that intuition and I think she can sort of say that okay this very thing that was so good for you is now hurting you you're being untethered for too long it's a tough thing to hear at any age especially me in my 30s I I said you know what Mom you're yeah you don't know what you're talking about yeah I've got to figure it out I'm going to figure it out they'd say all the time because she needed to travel right right I said you're being hypocritical but it ended up actually setting me on this path of okay there is a clock now yeah and you got to be conscientious to that you can't do this forever and who are you and it kind of forced me to try to answer those difficult questions of who are you independent of your parents in your hometown like so many you grapple with uh disappointing the people that are around you yeah wrote about that and I want people to really pay attention at home because I believe they can identify with this I feared failing in a job in the life that chose me and I feared not living up to the family name do you still seek that approval and from who is it your family is it friends is it the industry is it yourself my father used to say to me your name's Luke Saint Luke first chapter 12 verse 48 to whom much is given much is expected I actually had that tattooed in my arm that was something that for many years haunted me because I go you've been given all this privilege all these gifts are you doing enough are you are you honoring the Legacy are you honoring the name and I felt the Deep sense of inadequacy and it wasn't until I traveled I measured myself up against the world and I was able to have real moments of self-reflection and self-awareness that I realized that you got to be good for yourself yeah and nobody is going to be satisfied until you yourself are satisfied with your own abilities and your own psyche and when I got to that place that was the place of Peace So for me I put my heart and soul into this book it has been something that's been so rewarding and it felt good to bleed out in the pay age a little bit you really did look there's a very poignant moment where you're you're going to your dad's things 10 years later boxes of his papers and you're reading about your dad at your age the things he had done what was said about him at your age I can't it was a tough moment we had all this handwriting we had all these boxes in the attic and I was supposed to go through them in 2008 and I had avoided it I had avoid it because part of going through them meant that he was really gone yeah and I come back from traveling and I go up into that attic and I have to sit on this little stool my knees are near my ears and I go through every single one and I see his handwriting and so many times I would just break down putting my hand over that ink being oh god dad touched this he's here he's here but I started to see all the success that he had at a young age and I could look Inward and be like I oh my gosh 34 he was so much more accomplished so much better off what am I doing and it was hard to reconcile that but it was important because it put me on a path of okay get going do something here are you happy yeah I'm so happy and as we said earlier you know you can't compare yourself to a legend no right but I'm doing okay yeah you're doing all right and I think you still feel his presence don't you all the time and uh that's one of the most beautiful things you know look for me there dad's right next to me he's inside me he's he's always around and I talk to him frequently yeah yeah I said earlier you were separated but of course you're not not in that way never and and that's the bond between Fathers and Sons are always there it's a poignant book Luke Russell thank you very much the book is look for me there it is available wherever you buy your books get a box of tissues we'll be right back yes

Channel: CBS Mornings

Views: 6,241

Keywords: video, cbs, news, luke russert, look for me there, tim russert

Id: EyRokNL3OPY

Length: 8min 20sec (500 seconds)

Published: Thu May 04 2023