Lucky man : a memoir / Michael J. Fox.

Even I, watching only a little TV, was aware of Michael J.
Fox’s talent as a comic actor and of his later diagnosis of Parkinson’s
Disease. I didn’t know quite what to
expect from his autobiography, but I found the book very entertaining, and I
loved the sincere and down-to-earth tone of his writing. Fox describes his early life in Canada, the
despair his parents felt when he neglected academic interests and how he
finally became a professional actor. He
had very little money at first and not having a phone, had to negotiate one of
his contacts using an outdoor payphone.

One of the best parts of the book are how Fox describes the
impact that Parkinson’s Disease has made on his life. For a long time, he was terrified that his Parkinson’s would become known to the public and that his
career would be ruined. He went to great
lengths to conceal his tremors and visited doctors in secret. But he went on to reveal his condition and
has become an advocate for persons with the disease. He testified before Congress
to increase funding for research and in
fact, he feels that his life is richer because of his condition.

Fox gives a lot of credit to the people who helped him in
his personal and professional life. Most
heartwarmingly to me, a grandmother, is the love and devotion he feels toward
his maternal grandmother. This
grandmother always believed in him ever since he was a young child and he still
feels a strong tie to her.

Review from Amazon.com:
” The same sharp intelligence and self-deprecating wit that made Michael
J. Fox a star in the Family Ties TV series and Back to the Future
make this a lot punchier than the usual up-from-illness celebrity memoir. Yes,
he begins with the first symptoms of Parkinson's disease, the incurable illness
that led to his retirement from Spin City (and acting) in 2000. And yes,
he assures us he is a better, happier person now than he was before he was
diagnosed. In Fox's case, you actually might believe it, because he then
cheerfully exposes the insecurities and self-indulgences of his pre-Parkinson's
life in a manner that makes them not glamorous but wincingly ordinary and of
course very funny. ("As for the question, 'Does it bother you that maybe
she just wants to sleep with you because you're a celebrity?' My answer to that
one was, 'Ah...nope.'") With a working-class Canadian background, Fox has
an unusually detached perspective on the madness of mass-media fame; his
description of the tabloid feeding frenzy surrounding his 1988 wedding to Tracy
Pollan, for example, manages to be both acid and matter-of-fact. He is frank
but not maudlin about his drinking problem, and he refreshingly notes that
getting sober did not automatically solve all his other problems. This
readable, witty autobiography reminds you why it was generally a pleasure to watch
Fox onscreen: he's a nice guy with an edge, and you don't have to feel
embarrassed about liking him.”