Lucky Man: A Memoir - Hardcover

Fox, Michael J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786867647 ISBN 13: 9780786867646

Publisher: Hachette Books, 2002

Synopsis

The acclaimed actor offers an intimate, heartwarming account of his life, his meteoric rise to success in television and film, his struggle with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative neurological condition that usually affects the elderly, and his fierce campaign to find a cure for the ailment. 500,000 first printing. First serial, People. Second serial, Good Housekeeping & Reader's Digest.

About this title

Review:

The same sharp intelligence and self-deprecating wit that made Michael J Fox a star in the Spin City television series and Back to the Future films make Lucky Man 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.'")

From a Canadian, working-class 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 on screen: he's a nice guy with an edge, and you don't have to feel embarrassed about liking him. --Wendy Smith

Review:

"Life is great. Sometimes, though, you just have to put up with a little more crap."

About this edition

• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0786867647
• ISBN 13: 9780786867646
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 260