A memoir of a parent's sudden passing from ALS, recalling life lessons learned and regaining faith in the process.
Kevin P. Martin, Sr. was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease, better known as ALS, in August 2019. He died only a month later. Over a thousand people would attend the wake and funeral in South Boston, after all, Kevin Sr. was a leader in the Southie community and in the Catholic Church, both as a business owner and family man. But Kevin Jr. struggled with a bottomless grief, neither his father's example nor his own faith as a permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of Boston fully equipped him to cope with the loss.
“All Is Well” is the story of the good life well-lived and life lessons Kevin Sr. taught his son. It's a story of how Kevin Jr. moved from darkness to light after his father's death. It is a memoir that gives a roadmap out of grief, taking a path whose landmarks are the Beatitudes, family, miracles, baseball, rites of passage, bucket lists, and love, it offers insights into leadership, marriage, parenting, resilience, practicality, suffering, giving, forgiveness, joy, and savoring the little things. It paints a portrait of a servant leader, a consummate professional and family man, and sheds light on the up-close realities of ALS. It offers one exceptional father's example for how we can better live a life without regrets, how we can make the best of the time we have, and how we can do the most good with the journey we're given.
Part “Tuesdays with Morrie” and part “Townie”, this memoir offers solace and a path for those who are experiencing or have experienced grief from losing a parent, especially to terminal illness. Those that believe in a higher power (especially but not limited to the Catholic community), those from Boston and elsewhere in New England, and those looking to find lessons in the good life well-lived will readily find themselves in “All is Well”.
