Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist

Michael J. Fox

Mar 2009 · Hachette Audio · Narrated by Michael J. Fox

About this audiobook

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.

Ratings and reviews

Great Book.

About the author

Michael J. Fox was born Michael Andrew Fox in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on June 9, 1961. He made his acting debut in the comedy Leo and Me at the age of 15. He moved to Los Angeles at 18, appearing in small roles and the television series Palmerstown, U.S.A. in 1980, before landing the role of Alex P. Keaton in the television series Family Ties in 1982. He won three consecutive Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for the role. In the late 1980's, he started acting in movies including The Secret of My Success; Bright Lights, Big City; Teen Wolf; Doc Hollywood; and all three of the Back to the Future movies. He has also done voice work providing the voice of Stuart Little in the movie of the same name and its sequel, of Chance in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey and its sequel Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco and of Milo Thatch in Atlantis: The Lost Empire. When Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, he was playing the role of Mike Flaherty on the television series Spin City, for which he won an Emmy, three Golden Globes, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He quit work on the series as a result of the diagnosis. Since then he has written some books including Lucky Man: A Memoir; Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist; and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned.