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“I have noticed, increasingly, that people after the age of 65 or thereabouts begin to experience the fear of death in a very palpable way. While in their childhood and youth they had viewed death as happening only to grandparents, while in middle age they could still afford to relegate death to remote corners of their consciousness where it could not intrude upon the pleasures of living, the advent of old age after 65 brings to them a deeply disturbing sense of mortality.”

So begins An Equal Joy, a collection of essays in which award-winning author Catherine Lim undertakes a bold and intense exploration into the fear of death, the nature of religion and the question of who we are. Drawing on her own experiences and myraid influences—from the Taoist “Sky God” of her childhood and the Christian God Jesus of her adulthood to scientist Pascal and philosopher Socrates; from intimate conversations with close friends to the imagined world of fictional characters—Lim reflects on the beauty of both the natural world and the world of faith.

As Lim writes, “Truth, Goodness and Beauty. For me, they form the goals of a perfect life.” In sharing her insights, Lim not only provokes us to reflect on the meaning of life but also encourages us to live as meaningful a life as possible.
Catherine Lim is widely regarded as the doyenne of Singapore writers. The prolific novelist and short story writer is also known for her sharp political commentary, her wit and her often irreverent sense of humour. Catherine went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a doctorate in Applied Linguistics. She was then awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the United States.

She is known for her popular works of romantic historical fiction, set in the exotic Singapore and Malaysia of days gone by. Often centred on a strong-willed female character, her writing encapsulates the clash between traditional Chinese culture and modernity, women caught between the values of the East and West.

Catherine has numerous international awards, including an Honorary Doctorate in Literature from Australia’s Murdoch University. She is a Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) in France, and an ambassador of the Hans Christian Andersen Foundation in Copenhagen. In 2012 she won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Singaporean website, The Online Citizen.

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An Equal Joy