Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at age 29. Keeping it secret from everyone but his wife in those early days, he was frightened. His struggle with alcohol, already in progress, didn’t help the situation and he sobered up four years after his Parkinson’s diagnosis. This back story provided the foundation for the rest of his lively life.
Mike, as he calls himself, doesn’t dwell on the details of those days. Rather, he writes plainly and humorously about his declining health and his annoyance with it. His stubborn optimism, a life long belief, faded as Parkinson’s has him more strongly in its grip. His amazing family always support him ~ wife Tracy, son Sam, daughters Schuyler, Aquinnah and Esmé all make him laugh, care for him, let him get away with what he can ~ even when he severely broke his arm in a fall because he insisted on being alone. For just one night. This after he had finally healed from back surgery and removal of a tumour. He punished himself about that. His life long friends who golf with him despite his decreasing coordination keep him participating in life. They all attend concerts, go on holidays (one was a safari) and generally enjoy a solid family life. He doesn’t neglect to write about the Parkinson’s Foundation that he founded but doesn’t go on about it. Even though I think he’d like to. In his acting and writing careers, he writes with pride and gratitude about all the people he works with. Spike Lee asking him to do what are called ‘arc shots’ that can be filled in - especially when he had to put it off because of the broken arm.
Mood changes from Parkinson’s and the increasing physical limitations steadily narrows his options. He had always been known as someone who made lemonade out lemons, but at one point he didn’t want any more lemonade. Despite being only 58, he feels like an old man too early. A huge challenge to his optimism. It frightens him to know that 'getting better' is not an option, while he is still a young man. His epilogue shares how their family dealt with the pandemic. All the kids coming home, their family sheltered in place at their beach home.
I related to much of what he shared in this memoir and am grateful that I picked up NO TIME LIKE THE FUTURE as my next read. It stays on my shelf, as a good read and as a resource when I am feeling my own aging in the midst of my own chronic condition.
“With gratitude, optimism becomes sustainable.”
~ Stephen Pollan,
Michael’s father-in-law
Title: No Time Like the Future ~ An Optimist Considers Mortality
Author: Michael J. Fox
Copyright: 2020
Publisher: Flatiron
Type: Hardcover
Format: Memoir
ISBN - 978-1-250-26561-6 (hardcover)
ISBN - 978-1-250-26562-3 (ebook)
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