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.
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