All Is Well

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 Tuesday's 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. 

100% of this book’s profits will go to ALS research, care charities, and support organizations.
 

Deacon Kevin P. Martin, Jr. is a partner in a national CPA and consulting firm headquartered in New York. He is a Catholic permanent deacon, ordained in the Archdiocese of Boston. Kevin lives in Milton, Massachusetts, with his wife, Lisa, and their four children – Kevin, Connor, Brian, and Meghan. He spends a lot of time with his loving mother, Claire, and works to honor his father’s legacy every day. All Is Well is his first book.
 

“A beautiful, inspiring, and graceful tribute, I found myself nodding and nodding as I turned each page of All Is Well. Deacon Kevin brings his father’s moving story alive through truth, wit, and strong emotion. As a corporate trainer, business and leadership lessons abound. As a mom and ALS advocate, I know the ALS journey and how it embodies all of the senses, and Kevin captures each of them in a very relatable and personal way. And as a person of faith, I was reminded yet again that the human spirit, compassion, love, and hope hold no boundaries. Deacon Kevin captures the heart of a man that I would have so enjoyed getting to know. A must read!”
—Nancy Frates, TED Speaker, corporate trainer, business coach, and ALS advocate. Proud mom of Pete Frates, ALS patient/advocate and inspiration of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which raised $220 million worldwide

“In All Is Well, Kevin Martin, Jr. captures his father’s wisdom, wit, and humility. It’s an endearing profile of a man who spoke loudly with few words, especially about his faith. In life, Kevin achieved success, but in death, he achieved his dream of togetherness with Jesus and his family.”
—Ray Flynn, former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican and former Mayor of Boston 

“Kevin offers a heartfelt glimpse of the journey that many families affected by ALS are forced to travel. His love for his father, his family, and his faith will ring true with many, as will the lessons he draws from his father and shares with us.”
—Calaneet Balas, President & CEO ALS Association, Chair of the International Alliance for ALS/MND

“We are all blessed that Deacon Kevin Martin Jr. has generously provided us reflections on his father’s life. This book is a valuable resource for connecting the ideals of our faith to the experience of our daily life and is indeed a guide for a life well lived.”
—Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM, Cap., Archbishop of Boston

“Though the clinical path is different for everyone, Kevin Martin captures the personal journey of ALS families everywhere. He takes the reader on a rollercoaster of emotions—from shock and sadness to practicality, patience, and love—ultimately giving us the gift we desire most: hope. In All Is Well, Kevin tells a compelling story of dreaming big, working hard, helping others, and being kind-hearted. The beauty of a life lived filled with the love of family and friends and doing good for others offers us an uplifting and inspiring story.”
—Merit Cudkowicz, MD, Chief of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Julieanne Dorn Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School