Wherever I Am, I’m Fine

Letters About Living While Dying

By: Catherine Royce

Narrated by: Becket Royce McGough, Amanda Royce-Hale

Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

“Dear Ones.” So begins each of an extraordinary collection of letters written to friends and family by Catherine Royce as she contemplated how she would live out her life as it was slowly taken from her by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

Writing with great humor, candor, and insight, Catherine stares, unblinking, into the glare of her own mortality. She asks tough questions about living, dying, and her personal relationship with God, and makes a conscious choice both to live her life as fully as possible every day, and to embrace her death as the ultimate gift and adventure. The letters begin as a journal of her trip to India for Ayurvedic treatment after her diagnosis of ALS at the age of 54, and continue after her return to her home in Dorchester, Massachusetts. They chronicle her deep exploration of her personal spiritual beliefs, and how living her life with her death clearly before her both challenged and ultimately bolstered those beliefs. Her meditations in the deep questions of grace, her search for God in herself, and the meaning of life and death play out against the backdrop of her day to day challenges and triumphs.In her essay for the NPR series, “This I believe”, Catherine gave voice to her belief that, no matter what life hands her, she always has a choice.

"Every day I choose not only how I will live, but if I will live. I can choose to see ALS as nothing more than a death sentence or I can choose to see it as an invitation – an opportunity to learn who I truly am.” That she truly lived these words is evident on every page of her letters to her “Dear Ones.” In them she inspires us to view life’s challenges as opportunities to strengthen our own understanding and spiritual connectedness.

©2011 Scott Nagel (P)2011 Scott Nagel

Critic reviews

“Catherine Royce, in her amazing book, gives to the world a clear look at what is ultimately possible for a human being to attain in this life. It is an incredible "read," with words so potent that they will change your life forevermore… Catherine takes us on a journey that goes beyond anything we could imagine in our wildest dreams… This is a must read for those who long for the greatness of the heart.” (Alan Gompers, author Maximum Security: The True Meaning of Freedom)

Great book: a how to live while dying book!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. I really enjoyed this book. I think in part, because of her humor in facing distress as well as her total willingness to face and accept her fate.

What other book might you compare Wherever I Am, I’m Fine to and why?

I'm looking for that myself.

Which character – as performed by Becket Royce McGough and Amanda Royce-Hale – was your favorite?

Obviously Catherine. She was approachable, funny, although a bit too staunch at times. She seemed aloof to herself regarding her diagnosis, yet seemed unmiffed by others approaching it with her.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from Wherever I Am, I’m Fine?

Finding courage to laugh at almost every event in dying while living.

ALS Warrior

Catherine Royce was a remarkable and gifted writer and, although I did not personally know her, I feel she was equally remarkable as a wife, mother, daughter and friend. I listened twice, back to back, and can't remember having done that with any other book. It went as fast the second time as it did the first. I don't know when I'll be passing from this world, but I certainly look forward to someday chatting with Catherine Royce.