Always Looking Up

I was just told that I have Parkinson's and needed to know what it's going to be like. Always Looking Up gave me a lot of information. I also read Lucky Man. Between both books, After read both books, I had a lot of informed ideas. I then had a lot of questions for my doctor. Thank you Michael for sharing your experiences.

Very informative. With the diagnosis of PD that Michael received, how he handled it was very informative as this appears to be the reaction that most people have toward the diagnosis of PD. It is nice to see the initial reaction one has towards this diagnosis is "normal". Plus how he has coped with his symptoms now and in the past was interesting.
This book along with his foundation on the web, just shows you how research has made this disease manageable. How one can lead a 'normal' life even if you have PD.
Paulette

As a chronic illness patient, I was skeptical to read this book - after all, although the author has an incurable, progressive disease, he is also a very wealthy man who can afford the latest and greatest of treatments, and he is famous, so he has a built-in platform to talk about his suffering.

When he wrote early in the book about having stigmas attached to Parkinson's Disease, I wanted to scream at him "Stigmas? You wanna talk about *STIGMAS*?!?!" - after I all, I suffer a disease that many doctors either don't know about or deny entirely, and that the general public thinks is simply in patients' heads. (It's not.)

However, I was pleasantly surprised! The book is an honest look at the author's struggles, but told in a funny and truthful way. He's not self-effacing, and he constantly stresses how blessed he is to have his celebrity and to have been able to create his foundation to help others with Parkinson's Disease. He also explained the stigmas attached to PD, ones I had not considered. For instance, he tells a funny story of being approached by a heroine dealer who assumed - because of his jerky reactions - that he was in need of a fix.

The book is in four parts - or what he calls the pillars of his life - Work, Politics, Faith, and Family. I am personally NOT a fan of politics, but I really enjoyed reading about his take on it. I also agree so much with what he wrote about Faith. The section on Family was the weakest of the four - I would have liked to have read more, but then again, it's possible most of that is covered in his other books.

Of much interest to me was how much things have changed in the 10 years since he published this book. Many of the fights he was waging at the time - such as trying to make research into stem cells legal - has happened since then. Many of the politicians he mentioned are still working for their constituents (most notably U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who lost her legs in the Iraq War).

Overall, I'm very glad I read this book. Again, I got another perspective on a chronic disease, and the author is a very talented writer with a keen "ear" (as it were) for storytelling.

Bought it for my husband who has a disability and struggles with things he can no longer do. He read it rapidly and quoted me things from the book that he liked. He found the book helpful and inspirational.

good read

Nice stories from a nice person. A good read.

Quite interesting learning about Fox's journey with Parkinson's Disease and his passion for stem cell research.

Great book, great dealer.

Book is about Michaels journey. It is well written.

I wanted something upbeat about our situation of having the diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. And we all know what Michael J. Fox has done for all of us, with his help to find a cure. Also he has it himself. I've always liked this man. He calls himself an incurable optimist, and I needed that. I haven't finished it yet, but I am enjoying it.