diff --git a/lib/asyncify.js b/lib/asyncify.js
index 74ba75616..13978b8d7 100644
--- a/lib/asyncify.js
+++ b/lib/asyncify.js
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ function handlePromise(promise, callback) {
     return promise.then(value => {
         invokeCallback(callback, null, value);
     }, err => {
-        invokeCallback(callback, err instanceof Error ? err : new Error(err));
+        invokeCallback(callback, err && (err instanceof Error || err.message) ? err : new Error(err));
     });
 }