Michael J. Fox

Lucky Man: A Memoir
Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist

Michael J. Fox and I entered adulthood together, through the television screen, as I watched Family Ties, then occasional movies, and finally Spin City. I remember feeling like a member of my own family was diagnosed with Parkinson’s when I heard of Michael’s diagnosis. And I cried during the last episode of Spin City, especially when the cast came out of character to wish Michael luck, to say good-bye.

I didn’t know then that Michael and I shared something else, optimism. True there have been times in my life (recently in particular) that my optimism has shifted into a scowl, but in general I look through life with rose colored glasses. Not unrealistically, but hopefully.

I saw Michael this past year on a morning news show, promoting his latest book, Always Looking Up. I bought it and practically read the entire thing the same day. I was amazed. Lucky Me was my next purchase.

I have known people who allow their optimism and hope to spread beyond the span of their reach. Usually they are surrounded by others, as though they are a campfire in a cold dark night, their light illuminating the open hands of those who circle close, those hoping the warmth will spread to them. It is not as though they possess something others don’t have; it is just that they are willing to let their optimism rise above their fear. Per the words of Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate . Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us…And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give people permission to do the same.”

Michael J. Fox allows his light to shine. While he says, when praised as a steadfast Parkinson’s advocate, that he is just rolling with the punches, he walks his path with the benefit of a three-legged stool. He says, “If optimism is a happy-go-lucky expectation that the odds are in my favor…and if hope is informed optimism, facts converting desire into possibility, then faith is the third leg of the stool. Faith tells me that I am not alone.”

We can all learn from his wisdom. We can all benefit from his life force.

With Blessings and Boldness,

Melinda