Lucky Man - A Memoir (Paperback, New Ed)

This is no ordinary celebrity memoir. Michael J Fox is a household name in the United States after his meteoric rise to fame in film and TV. But this story starts in dramatic fashion with his discovery aged 30, that his little finger was trembling and twitching. It took a full year before he could accept that he had Parkinson's Disease, a progressive, degenerative and incurable neurological disorder. Coping with this 'relentless assault and accumulating damage' and concealing it as long as possible while he continued his movie and TV career led to alcoholic despair and traumatic marital relations. He felt his 'life was in flames', but he kept his condition private for seven years. Reluctantly he reached out for help from a Jungian analyst, who gave him the understanding of himself that he needed. The story is told in an easy, colloquial style, and chapters about his childhood, his determination to be an actor and his early struggles are skilfully interlaced with the later ones about the development of the disease - which he has called a 'profoundly enriching gift'. He now considers himself a lucky man. He describes what he calls the 'on-off phenomenon' - the disease reduces him to a prisoner in his own body until the medication kicks in, bringing full functioning, but the strain of 'timing' this with the demands of his acting life led to his coming out of the closet to share his experience with Parkinson's. He had little idea what a big news story it would be, and what an enormous surge of concern and sympathy he would receive. Unknowingly, he had sparked a national conversation about PD, and hundreds of fellow sufferers felt emboldened to share their fears without being stigmatized. Now Fox plays a very valuable part in the Parkinson's Action Network (PAN) and has also founded the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson Research. This is an honest, engrossing and uplifting read. (Kirkus UK)

In September 1998, Michael J. Fox stunned the world by announcing that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease - in fact, he had been secretly fighting it for seven years. In this candid book, with his trademark ironic sensibility and sense of the absurd, he tells his life story - from his childhood in western Canada to his meteoric rise in film and television and, most importantly, the years in which - with the unswerving support of his wife, family and friends - he has dealt with his illness. He talks about what Parkinson's has given him: the chance to appreciate a wonderful life and career, and the opportunity to help search for a cure and spread public awareness of the disease. He feels as if he is a very lucky man indeed.

General

Imprint:	Ebury Press
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	2003
Authors:	Michael J. Fox
Dimensions:	198 x 129 x 22mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	311
Edition:	New Ed
ISBN-13:	978-0-09-188567-0
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Film, television, music, theatre Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Films, cinema > General Books > Biography > Film, television, music, theatre Promotions
LSN:	0-09-188567-1
Barcode:	9780091885670

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