Always Looking Up

Always Looking Up: the Adventures of an Incurable Optimist –by Michael J. Fox

Memoir

288 pages

footnotes/endnotes: No

illustrations: Yes (b/w photos)

suitable for eReaders: Yes

Remember the old saw, "I used to complain because I had no shoes, and then I met a man who had no feet"? Well, Rainy Day complains because she has to get up in the morning and feed the critters (before they find and dine on her toes), and then she read Always Looking Up. After reading the struggles Mike Fox has to go through to get out of bed, Rainy Day will try not to complain so bitterly that the critters can't/won't get their own breakfast! For those of you who have spent the last decade or so living in a cave, or under the ocean, and don't know -- he has Parkinson's Disease (PD).

This memoir is not in chronological order, it is in sections about what he values – Work, Politics, Faith, and Family, with a Prologue and an Epilogue. This bothers some people, but Rainy Day had no problem with it.The Prologue is important, don't skip it;-)

It covers the time since his previous book, Lucky Man, and is a very entertaining read. This isn't a 'coming of age' book, but it is a 'finding myself' book. He describes how he finds humor and happiness in the most mundane things, and how he is living a happier and more satisfied life.

Michael J. Fox has long been one of Rainy Day's faves, and she thinks he has just moved to the top of that list. She loves an optimist, and thinks there is nothing sexier than an intelligent and optimistic man. Michael J. Fox is both!

This book could have easily gone into the Why Me/Poor Me category, instead it is a testament to his ability to find the humor, and the good, in life that cloaks him fwith the ravages of a horrid disease.

Michael J. Fox is an actor, a devoted husband of more than 20 years, a loving father of four, and an activist. He lives with PD as an incurable Optimist.

Buy this book. Read this book. And the next time you're feeling grumpy about lack of shoes, or having to get out of bed before you're ready, remember Mike, and Muhammad Ali, and all the other people out there living with PD.