Always Looking Up The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist

Always Looking Up The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist

There are many words to describe Michael J. Fox: Actor. Husband. Father. Activist. But readers of Always Looking Up will soon add another to the list: Optimist. Michael writes about the hard-won perspective that helped him see challenges as opportunities. Instead of building walls around himself, he developed a personal policy of engagement and discovery: an emotional, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual outlook that has served him throughout his struggle with Parkinson-s disease. Michael-s exit from a very demanding, very public arena offered him the time-and the inspiration-to open up new doors leading to unexpected places. One door even led him to the center of his own family, the greatest destination of all. The last ten years, which is really the stuff of this book, began with such a loss: my retirement from Spin City. I found myself struggling with a strange new dynamic: the shifting of public and private personas. I had been Mike the actor, then Mike the actor with PD. Now was I just Mike with PD? Parkinson-s had consumed my career and, in a sense, had become my career. But where did all of this leave Me? I had to build a new life when I was already pretty happy with the old one.Always Looking Up is a memoir of this last decade, told through the critical themes of Michael-s life: work, politics, faith, and family. The book is a journey of self-discovery and reinvention, and a testament to the consolations that protect him from the ravages of Parkinson-s.With the humor and wit that captivated fans of his first book, Lucky Man, Michael describes how he became a happier, more satisfied person by recognizing the gifts of everyday life.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Shameful whiny Fox
Michael J. Fox is a disgrace to anyone with a serious disease. He uses his disability like Paris Hilton uses promiscuity-as a crutch to get desperately needed publicity.

4 Stars The Title Says It All About the Stubborn Power of Optimism.
Michael J. Fox points out that he was once presented with the results of a survey that reveals he’s one of the most trusted people in America. That feels about right — everything most people know about him seems to indicate he’s a nice guy who made good.

He’s also one of the people we most associate with Parkinson’s. I doubt he would have picked it, but he carries well the mantle and the responsibility of working toward a cure. F. Scott Fitzgerald said that there are no second acts in American lives, and perhaps this isn’t a second act for Mr. Fox — perhaps all the earlier stuff was merely the prologue and the real story is right here and now. Perhaps he’ll be better remembered some day for the work he does with Parkinson’s than he will as Alex P. Keaton or Marty McFly.

There’s no way around this book being about those efforts and there’s no way around this being about politics, too. Whether you’re a fan or not of Bush, he did not acquit himself well in all but bringing to a halt stem cell research. Whether you’re a fan of Limbaugh’s or not, it’s hard to read Mr. Fox’s story of his *mother’s* reaction to his hurtful and uninformed opinions on that front.

But Mr. Bush and Mr. Limbaugh, their policies, their opinions, are only one part of the story. The rest, what this book focuses on, is how the author doesn’t let it defeat him. There’s too much work to be done.

The author, even in the midst of talking about struggles, keeps it upbeat. He tells the story from a place of gratitude, possibility, and hope, and looks to a brighter future for those who live with Parkinson’s and the myriad of diseases that stem cell research will, hopefully, eventually defeat.

Nobody should look to this book for celebrity gossip, because it’s not that kind of book, and Michael J. Fox is not that kind of guy. I suppose that’s one of the reasons we trust him.

5 Stars Awesome
Thank you again, MJF, for sharing your life experience with us. It has been inspiring.

4 Stars Amazing Strength & Determination
A diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease can be devastating to anyone, but Michael J. Fox’s inspirational book proves it doesn’t have to destroy your life. His courage and determination is awe-inspiring.

Angel’s Dance: A Collection of Uplifting and Inspirational Poetry

4 Stars Always Looking Up
A bit “heavy” in the middle of the book, which I wasn’t expecting.

Otherwise, it was an excellent “read”.

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