Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist

Overview

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

Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews for this product are not available at this time.

Author Information

Bio of Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox gained fame playing Alex P. Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties. His many other acting successes include the Back to the Future trilogy, and his award-winning lead role in Spin City, from which he retired in 2000. That same year, he launched the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which has leapt to the forefront of the effort to find a cure. He is the author of a previous book, the #1 bestseller Lucky Man, and lives with his family in New York City.

Customer Reviews

• Buy It For Mikey!

  Posted April 26, 2009 by missy51861, Grand Blanc

  Honestly, you should buy this book if you like Michael and it's for a good cause. I read his first book and thought it was very good. I couldn't wait for this one to come out. To me, it was like an auto-biography that wanted to be a novel. There were so many sentences turned into long paragraphs with 4 or 5 words that you would need a dictionary to grasp the meaning. So many times when I finished a paragraph I went, huh? I feel awful writing this review, but just keepin' it real!

• reminds me of still me

  Posted July 21, 2009 by david lerman, fairbanks

  This is a good book because it shows the authors determination to remain normal despite a illness. It reminded me of Still Me by Christopher Reeves. Joe Cool triumphs over despair.

Additional Info

Imprint

Hyperion Press

Filesize

519.66 KB

Number of Pages

288

eBook ISBN

9781401393939