A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future… by Michael J. Fox

It is a pretty poorly kept secret that I am a devout Michael J. Fox fan (mostly because I keep telling people, lol), so I was pretty excited to learn that he had a new book out. Having read & loved his two previous offerings, I obviously HAD to buy the new one. I placed my order with Amazon, sat back & waited for it to arrive. About a week before my holiday it arrived & I have to say, I was pretty disappointed with what I got!

I had been expecting a proper book, like the last two (especially based on the £6.98 price tag!), but it’s just a tiny book, about the size of a small children’s storybook. I tried desperately to get over that disappointment, but never really managed it, which quite possibly tainted my outlook when it came to reading it. Sadly, I really wish I hadn’t bothered.  I understand that the idea behind this book is a sort of “graduation present” for High School/University grads, but I think it would have to be given to a grad who wasn’t a Michael J. Fox fan (& even then I think they would be hard pressed to get up much enthusiasm for this book!). It’s supposed to be Fox’s way of passing on his life lessons, but I didn’t think that this offering, being as thin as it is, really offered any insight at all into how Fox’s experiences gave him his “degree in life”.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some interesting things in this tiny book, but it was nothing that a fan of his wouldn’t already know, which made it feel like it was a waste of both my time & my hard earned money. I felt like I had been scammed by a snake oil salesman. The sad thing is that even if someone told me that all the proceeds from the sale of every single book went to Parkinson’s research, I’d still feel like I’d been scammed!

Always Looking Up ~ by Michael J. Fox

I bought Always Looking Up after popping into my local Tesco’s, looking for something for dinner. I ended up buying the ingredients to make a lovely dinner & this book (which was something I really couldn’t justify the expense of, except to say that I needed to read this, which mightnt’ve washed with OH now that we’re both unemployed, but luckily he wasn’t bothered!)

I have been a Michael J. Fox fan for as long as I can remember. I loved Alex P.Keaton & have seen a few of his movies so many times that I can recite them almost verbatim (like The Secret of My Success,  for instance, lol). I think he was a brilliant actor & I have seen most of his movies & tv appearances, so finding out that he had PD (Parkinsons Disease) obviously came as a massive shock! I read his first book, Lucky Man a few months after it came out & loved it. I thought it was funny, sad, charismatic, witty & inspiring all in one book (& what pity I had felt for him after his retirement was quickly dispelled!)

Ok, so, I finished this book on the 30thMay & have been struggling with writing this review ever since! There really is no reason to struggle – it was a brilliant book, written by (in my opinion, at least) a very brilliant man! I know that I am only struggling because I really do not see how I can do this book the justice it deserves. I read it in one sitting (apart from the hour or so I read on the train the day before), it flows so well & it comes across almost as though Michael was sitting in your living room telling you these stories himself. There is no “woe is me, I have a degenerative disease” to this book at all. It is straight forward, honest (well, as honest as you can assume, I mean, we don’t really know him, do we?) and at times gut wrenching.

Fox talks about how he came to the idea of starting the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research, meeting Lance Armstrong & discussing with him how he’d got his own foundation off the ground. Fox talks a lot about the celebrities that became involved & I suppose that could be seen as name dropping, or pretentious, but he does travel in those circles, even though he chooses to raise his family outside the limelight. Personally, I chose to see it not as pretension, but simply him describing what to me & you would be like us describing interactions we had with Joe-next-door.

Always Looking Up, unlike Lucky Man, does not follow a chronological order, which adds to the “sitting in my living room telling you stories” feel to this book. Fox reveals stories about his family that are touching, heartwarming & sad (I admit it, I was in tears at one point), he talks about his love for politics & his decision to become an American Citizen, about his love of voting, the Foundation & his decision to walk away from his acting career, amongst other things. There are some brilliant insights into politics – I especially love the analogy he makes about George W. Bush’s ranch having loads of fireflies, but no lighthouse – pure brilliance (unless you are a republican, I guess).

In short, I would say that if you are in any way interested in an excellent, insightful, funny, sad & touching read then please pick up (and read) Always Looking Up – you won’t regret it!

Michael J. Fox (I love this man)

I have always had a very soft spot for Mr. Fox (as a young girl I dreamt of being Mrs. Michael J. Fox – hmmm, should I be admitting to that?) ANYWAY………..I have seen most of his movies (I’ll admit it, there are a few I haven’t seen (the Frightners, for example), but the ones I have seen I loved (& practically know off by heart – sad, I know!) & I absolutely loved Family Ties (my favourite tv show) & Spin City was great.

I read Lucky Man when it first came out & discovered through Michelle at the Book Club Forum that he has this new book coming out. It’s already on my Amazon wishlist & bf has strict instructions to make sure I get it. I hope that he is doing well (as well as can be, I suppose) & that some time soon they find a cure for Parkinson’s! I have a real respect for him & Tracy – not only have they dealt with his disease with aplomb, they managed to do what so many actors don’t do – raise a family out of the spotlight.

So, that’s it, consider this a confession, I love Michael J. Fox (sorry babe!)

Now go buy his books………. and his movies!

********Sorry about the spacing – I did really use proper paragraphs, but for some reason it isn’t showing up. I’ve edited this 3 times to try & fix it, but IT WON’T WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!******** ok, rant over