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June 10, 2026
Köehler Books
PRAISE FOR I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS:
"In I'll See You in My Dreams, documentary filmmaker Larkin McPhee delivers a long-form literary eulogy to her brother Charles-her childhood protector, creative muse, guide to the world of dreams (his professional realm), and above all best friend-and an unblinking view into the brave, agonizing battle he fought with the progressive neurodegenerative disease ALS. She does all of this with the eye of a journalist and the heart of a poet."-Jonathan Gluck, journalist and author of the bestselling memoir An Exercise in Uncertainty
"It's rare to find a kindred spirit in this world, someone who instinctively understands the innermost workings of your heart and mind, and rarer still if that kindred spirit is your sibling. In I'll See You in My Dreams, Larkin McPhee introduces us to her beloved brother Charles, whose life was cut short by ALS but who left an indelible impression of love and light on everyone lucky enough to know him. Illuminating memories from their shared childhood and their far-flung but intertwined adult lives are threaded throughout with email and letter excerpts, photos, scenes from Charles's deepening illness, and the steadfast love and support of his family. An inspiring, elegiac, and profoundly moving memoir."-Alison McGhee, New York Times bestselling author of books for all ages
"Some people arrive in our lives as pure light-and Charles was that. In I'll See You In My Dreams, Larkin McPhee gives us not a grief memoir but something rarer: a love letter to a brother who was a compass, warrior, optimist, and dream doctor all at once-a man who embodied light, love, and who, even now, has not stopped guiding. It will crack you open and leave you more whole."-Catherine Duncan, author of Everyday Awakening
"I'll See You In My Dreams is not only a heartbreaking family memoir of love and grief and ALS; it is also a portrait of the ways in which it is possible to live fully, even exuberantly, under the most difficult of conditions. Larkin McPhee has written an extraordinary portrait of an extraordinary human being."-Julie Schumacher, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Committee Members
"This bittersweet memoir eloquently captures the essence and power of a brother and sister's love, even in the face of tragic loss. Deeply touching, laced with vivid imagery, and uniquely inspirational, it compels us to think more deeply about creativity, meaningful relationships and life."-Stephen P. Kiernan, author of The Baker's Secret and Pollock's Last Lover
"Larkin McPhee's love letter to her brother captures both the crushing realities of ALS and the transcendent power of the relationship between two siblings who shaped each other's worlds through shared dreams, midnight conversations, and an unbreakable bond that not even a devastating disease could diminish. This is more than a story about ALS. It's a masterclass in resilience, a testament to the human spirit, and a deeply personal tribute that honors not just one remarkable life, but also the enduring power of the connections that define us. If there is one thing that ALS teaches everyone it touches, it's that love conquers all."-Scott Kaufman, former Chairman of The ALS Association
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ABOUT I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS:
I'll See You In My Dreams: A Sister's Memoir is an unforgettable portrait of sibling love as told by Larkin McPhee, a Peabody and Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker, and her dream-expert younger brother, Charles McPhee, host of the nationally syndicated radio program The Dream Doctor Show. At forty-four, Charles's life changed forever when he was diagnosed with the fatal neurodegenerative disease ALS.
Using remembered moments, dreams, emails, and excerpts from his radio show, Larkin looks back on the years with her brother, both before his diagnosis and afterward, tracing a poignant but joyful journey across time as they encourage each other's creativity and nontraditional careers. In addition to helping his radio listeners, Charles guides Larkin through her dreams and their impact on her life, helping her discover her voice as a documentary filmmaker. And in the face of insurmountable odds, Charles finds hope and beauty, ultimately showing Larkin, and all of us, how to live.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Peabody and Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Larkin McPhee brings the same penetrating curiosity and emotional depth that have defined her acclaimed film career to her debut memoir I’ll See You in My Dreams: A Sister’s Memoir (June 10, Köehler Books).
In the book, she shares a deeply personal story of her brother Charles McPhee, the nationally known dream expert and host of The Dream Doctor Show, whose life, work, and death from ALS left an incredible mark on his family and on the thousands of listeners who found meaning and comfort in his voice.
For more than three decades, McPhee has been one of public television’s most trusted voices - a director, producer and writer whose work has consistently illuminated the human condition across some of the most pressing subjects of our time.
Starting out at Smithsonian World and National Geographic EXPLORER, she went on to NOVA, PBS’s flagship science series, where she earned an Emmy Award for her work on the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
A graduate of Middlebury College, she later established herself as an independent filmmaker based in Minneapolis Minnesota.
She won several Emmy’s for her work on Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story and earned the Peabody award for a PBS special on the illness of depression.
As an independent, McPhee has directed and produced a body of work spanning the full range of human experience.
She is perhaps best known for her critically acclaimed NOVA special Dying to Be Thin, a pioneering exploration of eating disorders, narrated by Susan Sarandon; Depression: Out of the Shadows, a landmark ninety-minute PBS national special, and Caring for Mom & Dad, narrated by Meryl Streep, which premiered in primetime on PBS in 2015.
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