Publication Date: June 10, 2026
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.
One woman channels the grief over losing her brother to ALS in a moving tale celebrating his life.
Author Larkin McPhee creates a heartfelt memoir in I’ll See You In My Dreams that highlights her brother, Charles, both pre- and post-diagnosis.
Of special interest is his career as a nationally syndicated radio host specializing in dreams. Through childhood memories, the author illustrates a tight sibling bond. As they reach adulthood, she leverages written correspondence, photos, and radio show episodes to demonstrate his impact.
All of this combines into a tightly woven homage to a man who fought valiantly against a devastating diagnosis.
I’ll See You In My Dreams offers an inspirational story about sibling love and loss.
Larkin McPhee is a Peabody and Emmy award-winning director, producer and writer of documentary films covering topics ranging from the environment to mental health to the cosmos. Meticulous research, outstanding characters and powerful story-telling make McPhee’s films extraordinarily compelling. Her skills as a director, writer and documentarian bring beauty and clarity to any topic. McPhee’s documentaries impart a deep knowledge of the subject matter and provide viewers with a blueprint for positive change.
McPhee is perhaps best known for her intimate, sensitive portrayals of people in critically acclaimed films such as “Depression: Out of the Shadows,” a primetime PBS special on the illness of depression; “Dying To Be Thin,” a NOVA special on eating disorders; and “Children By Design,” one hour of an eight-hour PBS Series called Secret of Life, on the marvels and perils of the genetic revolution.
McPhee’s films have received widespread acclaim, including a review by The Wall Street Journal that described “Depression: Out of the Shadows” as “A treasure for its information and explanation, this documentary is that rare thing — powerful television that can do some good in the world.”
McPhee has been writing documentary scripts for over thirty years and articles related to her films for publications including the Boston Globe and Minnesota Star Tribune. She was inspired to write I’ll See You In My Dreams: A Sister’s Memoir after losing her younger brother, Charles McPhee, to ALS. Charles was host of a popular radio show on dream interpretation and his story was picked up by multiple media outlets including spots on the Today Show, as well as several articles in the New York Times.
