Cunningham's account tells of going with her uncle to see the movie "Snow White," to visit the ice skating rink, and to taste sweets at cafes. She recounts her memories of his vocation story, and how he integrated his work as a broadcaster, professor and author with his priesthood.
"He had a wonderful, wonderful sense of humor. He was very kind and thoughtful about everything," she said. "I had an awful lot of fun with him, to be sure, from the time I was young to the time I had children. He was always fun."
In some ways, Sheen was like a second father to Cunningham. He showed an ability to understand her and help her talk over questions and quandaries, even from a young age.
"if you had a quandary, he could help you find an answer to it," she said. "He was understanding, and I think he wanted everyone to have a great faith in God and rely on God. He led me down the right path, when I would wonder about school, and of course my faith."
His engagement with people on the street, whether admirers, critics, self-proclaimed relatives, or fallen away Catholics, also touched Cunningham. Sheen was not universally popular. Sometimes he was the subject of an angry confrontation on the street.
"He would just pretend that they were being nice to him. He would overlook it," Cunningham said. "He always hoped that they would change their mind about it. A lot of people didn't like him, I'm sure, because of what he was teaching."
For Cunningham, more Catholics need to continue his legacy.
"It's too bad there aren't more people like him to carry on in the Church like he did. I think the world needs somebody like that," said Cunningham. "If there were more people who would approach others like he did, maybe things could be turned around."
She suspected her uncle would have this advice: "Pray to God to turn the world around. My uncle would say 'just pray pray pray'."
Cunningham recounts her family life and her marriage to a Georgetown Law student. Sheen gave them a copy of his book on marriage, "Three To Get Married" and helped the newlyweds find and set up their new apartment-drawing on his clergy friends to help furnish the place.
Her book has won praise from Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Illinois, Fulton Sheen's hometown.
"This book should be essential reading for anyone interested in the life and heroic Christian witness of Fulton Sheen," Jenky said in a foreword to the book. "Reading Joan's fascinating account of her beloved uncle's story gives a richly human context to the inspiring life of this good, gifted and holy man."
The Peoria diocese opened the cause for Sheen's canonization in 2002, after the Archdiocese of New York said it would not explore the case. Jenky had suspended the beatification cause in September 2014 on the grounds that the Holy See expected Sheen's remains to be in the Peoria diocese. A lengthy legal battle followed, in which Cunningham sided with Peoria and Bishop Jenky due to the work they had put into the cause of beatification.
His beatification had been scheduled for Dec. 21, 2019, but it was postponed only weeks prior at the request of Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester, N.Y. The bishop was concerned that Sheen could be cited in investigations into handling of sexually abusive priests and alleged cover-ups during his three years as head of the diocese. Catholic News Agency reported in December that the concern focused on Sheen's handling of a priest who allegedly committed abuse or misconduct with adults in West Virginia, then returned to New York.
Cunningham hoped the conflict with the New York archdiocese could fade with time. She voiced disappointment with the last-minute cancellation and voiced sympathy with Sheen admirers who lost money on hotel and plane reservations.
She also acknowledged she did not understand the concerns that halted the beatification..
"My uncle had been investigated many times before Rome would even look at him as a possible candidate (for beatification)," said Cunningham.
Kevin J. Jones is a senior staff writer with Catholic News Agency. He was a recipient of a 2014 Catholic Relief Services' Egan Journalism Fellowship.