There's a Hole in my Bucket

An inspirational, life-affirming memoir from the great-grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Having grown up on their great-grandfather’s stories, Royd Tolkien and his brother, Mike, have always enjoyed adventures. So when Mike is diagnosed with motor neurone disease, also known as ALS, the brothers decide to use the time they have left to tick off as much as possible from Mike’s bucket list, from remote camping in Norway to travelling through Royd’s beloved New Zealand.

Yet, when Royd loses Mike, he discovers his brother had been writing another kind of bucket list: fifty things he wanted Royd to do after his death. His first task? Mike wants his mild-mannered brother to trip up on his way to the lectern to deliver his eulogy. What follows is a set of emotionally charged tests that will push Royd firmly out of his comfort zone.

This is the story of Royd’s journey to accomplish a challenging, humorous, and often heartbreaking list of unknown tasks that chart the brothers’ lives from childhood to adulthood. But above all, it is a story of the sibling bond, of grief―and of treasuring every moment.

As the great-grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, Royd grew up on a diet of storytelling and entertainment, with the characters of The Hobbit firmly entrenched in his imagination.

Following acting roles in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Royd was inspired to become a producer. He went on to produce two films and was developing more when, in 2012, his younger brother, Mike, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Royd put everything on hold to care for Mike until he passed away, on 28 January 2015.

Since then, Royd has completed There’s a Hole in My Bucket, a feature length documentary that follows his journey around New Zealand fulfilling the bucket list bequeathed to him by Mike. He lives in Wales.