Books › Always looking up
Always looking up
the adventures of an incurable optimist
375 pages
A witty, warm-hearted reflection that transforms the heavy reality of chronic illness into an inspiring journey of reinvention.
What it feels like
Reading this memoir feels like sitting down with a remarkably resilient friend who refuses to let life's hardest curveballs dictate his spirit. The narrative unfolds at a steady, engaging pace, anchored by a tone that is simultaneously earnest and laced with sharp wit. It wraps the reader in a warm, hopeful mood, even as it tackles the heavy realities of chronic illness and the sudden loss of a defining career. Instead of dwelling in sorrow, the prose crackles with humor and candid self-reflection, guiding the reader through an emotional landscape of shifting public and private identities. It is a deeply comforting and inspiring experience, perfect for anyone seeking a testament to the power of optimism, family, and finding unexpected purpose when an old life fades away.
- Mood
- uplifting
- warm
- contemplative
- hopeful
- Tone
- optimistic
- witty
- earnest
- reflective
- resilient
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- navigating chronic illness · identity and reinvention · the grounding power of family · finding purpose after loss
- The writing
- Conversational and candid, balancing heavy personal truths with a signature blend of humor and wit.
- The arc
- Moves from the disorientation of losing a defining career to a grounded, joyful embrace of a reinvented life.
- Who it's for
- Readers seeking a heartfelt, humorous exploration of resilience and anyone navigating a major life transition or health challenge.
Content notes
- chronic illness
- career loss
About the book
There are many words to describe Michael J. Fox: Actor. Husband. Father. Activist. But readers of Always Looking Up will soon add another to the list: Optimist. Michael writes about the hard-won perspective that helped him see challenges as opportunities. Instead of building walls around himself, he developed a personal policy of engagement and discovery: an emotional, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual outlook that has served him throughout his struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Michael’s exit from a very demanding, very public arena offered him the time–and the inspiration–to open up new doors leading to unexpected places. One door even led him to the center of his own family, the greatest destination of all. The last ten years, which is really the stuff of this book, began with such a loss: my retirement from Spin City. I found myself struggling with a strange new dynamic: the shifting of public and private personas. I had been Mike the actor, then Mike the actor with PD. Now was I just Mike with PD? Parkinson’s had consumed my career and, in a sense, had become my career. But where did all of this leave Me? I had to build a new life when I was already pretty happy with the old one.Always Looking Up is a memoir of this last decade, told through the critical themes of Michael’s life: work, politics, faith, and family. The book is a journey of self-discovery and reinvention, and a testament to the consolations that protect him from the ravages of Parkinson’s.With the humor and wit that captivated fans of his first book, Lucky Man, Michael describes how he became a happier, more satisfied person by recognizing the gifts of everyday life.
Description from Open Library.
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