Summary
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A moving account of resilience, hope, fear and mortality, and how these things resonate in our lives, by actor and advocate Michael J. Fox.
The entire world knows Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, the teenage sidekick of Doc Brown in Back to the Future ; as Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties ; as Mike Flaherty in Spin City ; and through numerous other movie roles and guest appearances on shows such as The Good Wife and Curb Your Enthusiasm . Diagnosed at age 29, Michael is equally engaged in Parkinson's advocacy work, raising global awareness of the disease and helping find a cure through The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the world's leading non-profit funder of PD science. His two previous bestselling memoirs, Lucky Man and Always Looking Up , dealt with how he came to terms with the illness, all the while exhibiting his iconic optimism. His new memoir reassesses this outlook, as events in the past decade presented additional challenges.
In No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality, Michael shares personal stories and observations about illness and health, aging, the strength of family and friends, and how our perceptions about time affect the way we approach mortality. Thoughtful and moving, but with Fox's trademark sense of humor, his book provides a vehicle for reflection about our lives, our loves, and our losses.
Running through the narrative is the drama of the medical madness Fox recently experienced, that included his daily negotiations with the Parkinson's disease he's had since 1991, and a spinal cord issue that necessitated immediate surgery. His challenge to learn how to walk again, only to suffer a devastating fall, nearly caused him to ditch his trademark optimism and "get out of the lemonade business altogether."
Does he make it all of the way back? Read the book.
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.
(Bowker Author Biography)
