Rating: 
Summary: Alex, You've Come A Long Way, Baby!!!
Review: This book shows you the inside story of what it's like to be Michael J. Fox. How he learned of his devastating illness with Parkinson's Disease, and how he's struggled to overcome it. It is a very interesting look into the life of a man who basically was just a starving artist from Canada trying to make it in show business and how a lucky break with Gary David Goldberg and a little known series called Family Ties literally changed his life overnight! It takes a look at how Michael took on the herculean task of starring in both Family Ties And Back To The Future at the same time!!! and how he had to make the two grueling sequels back to back. It also talks about a stunt that went terribly wrong during the shooting of the third film and how Michael nearly hung himself.(by accident of course.) How his relationship with actress Tracy Pollan blossomed and became a real life romance on and off the set. And how Michael's devastating drinking problem almost ruined his life and relationship with Tracey and his son Sam. His shocking revelation to the world that he had Parkinson's Disease in 1998, and how he had hidden the fact that he had had it for eight years prior to working on Spin City and his decision to retire from the show in May of 2000 to help find a cure for parkinson's disease and participate in parkinson's related research. He says in the book that he is happier than he has ever been in a long time since he was diagnosed with the illness so many years ago. He is indeed a very, lucky man!!!
Rating:
Summary: Much Better Than Just a Celebrity Story
Review: Listening to Michael J. Fox recount why he is a Lucky Man, my lengthy commute flew by. I was driven, in alternating waves, to laugh out loud, ponder my good fortune silently, and well up with tears as he revealed both the likeable guy that we enjoy on TV and the alcoholic, insecure individual that hid behind him. His enthusiasm for telling his story, whether recounting good times or challenges, brought the incidents and anecdotes to life. And his optimism in the face of Parkinson's Disease brings with it not only a marketable, upbeat message, but also legitimate inspiration for the listener. While the hand of the ghostwriter is frequently obvious in his selection of adjectives and clever phrases, Michael J. Fox succeeds by revealing a person we don't see on TV and enthusing the listener into caring about his challenges and his disease.
Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE
Review: I have always had an affinity for Michael J. Fox and was completely awestruck with his bravery and candor when a "came-out" (as he put it) and told the world about his problem. "Lucky MAN" is an increadibly well written and touching story about a truly extraordinary man. I didn't know that he wrote a book until January 20th of this year, when I stumbled onto the Parkinson's Research Foundation Website ... I read an excerpt and had "Time after Time" by Cyndi Lauper playing the background. The writing was so emotionally pure and well done that I nearly began to cry ... seeing the inside story about a person I'd only seen on screen. I went out and bought the book the next day and I have not been able to put it down. Many celebrities are elevated (by themselves, the press, their fans, etc.) and placed on platforms that the "normal" person simply can't comprehend, not so with Fox - he is still as human as you and me and, apparently, thinks of his many fans as extended family. I truly appreciate that he stopped his career and began the foundation. The one thing I can definetely say, is that the cure to this and many other horrible diseases lies in the continued study of stem cells. Becuase stem cells are "blank" they can become any type of cell in the body - and scientists know how to make them become what they want them to become. Hopefully, within the next 10 years, I believe that the FDA and other individuals and organization will accept that Stem Cells are the only chance such individuals as Fox have as they can, essentially, stop the progression of and reverse the damage caused by these ravishing diseases. This book is simply a wonderful read. Buy it, Read it, Enjoy it, Love it, Treasure it. Pray for Michael, and all of those afflicted with such travesties of nature.
Rating: 
Summary: A book of courage and acceptance.
Review: Seeing I was a girl who grew up in the 1980's during the Back to the Future and Family Ties craze, I have always loved MJF. The fact that he was from Western Canada only made him that much better. I had MJF posters on my walls from all the teen magazines always hoping I would meet some one as cool as Marty McFly and live happily ever after.Reading Lucky Man showed me the other side of Mr. Fox. It exposed to me to all the ups and downs he went through when he was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's disease. It took extreme courage to write this memoir and made publicly known how hard it is to sometimes accept what happens in life. MJF has helped bring awareness to Parkinson's disease it is just too bad that it took some famous to turn people's attention to this disease.
Rating:
Summary: A Brave and Honest Man
Review: I read two memoirs over the weekend, this one and Carol Channing's "Just Lucky I Guess." Though Fox's book is far superior, these two people have more in common than you might think. Both used the word "lucky" in their titles. Both had strong, supportive fathers whom they loved. Both had serious diseases, though Fox's is fatal and Channing's was an apparently curable cancer. The big contrast between the two books is in the quality of the writing, the depth of emotion, and the self-understanding. In spite of the fact that Fox was a high school dropout (though he later got his GED) and Channing spent two years at Bennington College, Fox's book is wonderfully well written while Channing's is just as gushy as you would expect if you've ever seen her on or off stage. Michael J. Fox has been through a lot. He had the good sense to get himself help for his alcoholism and his emotional problems and to profit by that help. Now that he's exposed his Parkinson's, he shows no signs of sniveling or begging for sympathy but is out there beating the bushes for money for research to help everyone with PD now and to come. He's not embarrassed to let the world see what PD is doing to him and to others. Underneath the shallow exterior he exhibited in his TV and movie roles, this guy is as solid as a rock. Fox also had the intelligence and maturity to see the showbiz world for the unreality that it is and not to fall victim to it or let it overwhelm him. Another contrast with Channing is that the parts Fox sees as unreal appear to be the only "real" life Channing has. You've really got to admire this man.
Rating:
Summary: Back To The Future... and the Present... and the Past.
Review: I'm still looking at the title page, the back of the dustjacket... anywhere, for the name of a co-author... but there isn't one. No, this is pure Michael J. Fox. As he says on the next-to-last page "I knew from the outset that I would have to write this book myself. The story was too personal for it to be told in anyone's words but my own."
It's just amazing that someone so skilled as an actor should be equally skilled as an author. His memoir is so well-written.
I got it as a Christmas gift, and spent my holidays devouring it (in between actual turkey-feasts). Trust me, once you start reading the story, it's really difficult to put the book aside.
As my review title suggests, Fox does not opt for a straight-ahead chronological approach to his story. Maybe it was even written in a DeLorean! He begins by detailing his earliest experiences with Young-Onset Parkinsons Disease in 1990, then jumps back in time to his formative years growing up in various parts of Canada (1960's-70's)... then follows up with his meteoric (albeit arduous) rise to fame in Hollywood in the early 80's and beyond. It's this latter three-quarters of the book that is filled with flashbacks, relevant happenings, here's and there's, like puzzle pieces selected not neccessarily in chronological order, but definitely neccessary for a complete picture in the end.
The reader is never lost in this real-life maze, and Fox's skill as a writer can hardly be exaggerated. Some of the most moving sections are those which deal with his marriage to actress Tracy Pollan, to his battles with alcohol indulgence, his brain surgery in 1998, to his love for family (his real-life Family Ties)! Of course, Michael's behind-the-scenes (and in-front-of-the-scenes) struggle with Parkinson's is front and center as the main motivation for this memoir. [Incidentally, all author's profits from the book are being donated to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which is yet another reason to pay the current Hardcover price!]
The book is sobering, it is deadly serious, and yet it is every bit as witty as Fox's television and movie persona.
In the last chapter, he says "Illness is a scary business, and somewhere deep inside, or maybe not so deep inside, we're all wondering if it could happen to us, and how we would cope if it did."
This book is about how Michael J. Fox copes. Gut level, it's all played out curtains and cameras aside!
If you expect a depressing, downtrodden story, you will be disappointed. This is not the story of an unfortunate man. It's the story of a lucky man.
Rating:
Summary: HEAR Fox tell his story in his own voice!
Review: (This review refers to the abridged audiobook.) He's one of America's favorites - a fine, funny actor and runner up in the Mr. Niceguy World contest. We watched him grow up in the movies and on TV, successfully reinventing his carreer before our very eyes. Little did any of us know of his behind the scenes struggles with the progressive, dabilitating disease that is Parkinson's, but also his struggles with the trappings of fame, excess, and a whole lotta partying. Though this memoir opens and closes with his fight against the insideous Parkinson's Disease (PD), Mr. Fox doesn't begrudge us other fun (and sometimes not-so-fun) and interesting details of his life. Mr. Fox opens up his life for the public to view, and he does it with grace, candor, and a refreshing heap of fun. He doesn't hesitate to poke humor at himself and his foibles, and gives his audience a remarkably colorful taste of what it's like to be him. He evenhandedly details his trials and triumphs about being a good father, husband, son, and sibling while juggling his suddenly "new" public persona. For instance, when he reminisces about having a "parking lot" in his driveway by age 25, one can nearly hear the 20/20 hindsight as he shakes his head in near disbelief. (Still, with the understanding that all things being equal, most Americans would probably do the same thing.) These stories are often followed by equally interesting tales of how his wife and family kept him grounded on earth. HEARING this book brings the experience into a new dimension. Mr. Fox delivers each section with colorful naration and a wide range of expression, but a slight waver in his voice is a constant reminder of his minute-to-minute struggles with PD. This recording may have been a monumental effort, and I applaud him for it. (A closed circuit message to Michael J. Fox: You sound GREAT, MAN!) To hear the man tell this story in his own voice is remarkable. For that reason, I highly recommend snaring a copy of the audiobook. Audio or no audio, this is an entertaining, thought-provoking memoir.
Rating:
Summary: Lucky Man - we are lucky to have such a captivating memoir!
Review: Michael J Fox has kept us entertained for years with his captivating performances in Family Ties, Back to the Future and most recently, the TV show Spin City. In Lucky Man, his memoir, he lets us into a completely different world. He opens himself up so we can read about his family life, his struggles to become a recognised actor and his humourous and saddening experiences as an actor on set trying to hide his Parkinson's Disease. Although we are mostly tempted to feel sorry for Fox, who has always kept us laughing, he tells us through this book the story of his diagnosis right through to his unconvering of his illness to the public - that he stopped grieving for himself a long time ago. As he says:
"If you were to rush into this room right now and announce that you had struck a deal - with God, Allah, Buddha, Christ, Krishna, Bill Gates, whomever - in which the ten years since my diagnosis could be magically taken away, traded in for ten more years as the person I was before, I would, without a moment's hesitation, tell you to take a hike." The astonishing story of how he has come to feel this way is both interesting and enthralling - a must-read for any fan of Michael's and even those who aren't. Ultimately, his story is uplifting and encouraging, well worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Although most people think they "know" Michael J Fox, this book is a real eye-opener. I found him to be inspirational, courageous, honest, humorous, and still as loveable as ever. What more can I say? I could not put the book down. I hope he writes a sequel. Good luck to you and your beautiful family Mr. Fox.
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: I really enjoyed reading Michael J. Fox's book about how he feels about having Parkinson's disease. He began his book by writing about the first day he became suspicious about his disease and why he ended up going to the doctor about it. He described his first "shaking" encounter as a "custody battle with his pinky finger" because he could not control it for nearly an entire day and was afraid that it had been possessed. Michael J. Fox does a really good job of describing his experience in simple terms so that anyone could understand it, even if they had never heard of Parkinson's disease.
In his book, Michael J. Fox describes his life as a celebrity and how Parkinson's disease has helped him to really appreciate his life for all that it is worth.
Before finding out that he had Parkinson's disease, Michael J. Fox explained that he felt like a "bubble boy" because he felt that he had lived such a sheltered and naïve life. He also felt that he had not appreciated all the things that really mattered in his life. In his book, he includes his experiences from being on the hit TV sitcom Family Ties and from being in the Back to the Future series as well. He does an excellent job of describing how he relates his experiences of playing those roles to his life today. For example, in one of the chapters, he describes an episode of Family Ties where his character, Alex P. Keaton, loses his best friend in a car accident. At first, he gets very angry and loses control over his emotions, but later realizes just how lucky he is to be alive. He then went on to explain how he really related to that episode when he first discovered that he had Parkinson's disease.
When the doctor told him that he had Parkinson's disease, Michael J. Fox got very angry and wanted to just give up. However, he later decided that he would have to learn to live with it and accept the disease as a part of him if he wanted to go on with his life. He explains in his book that he feels like a lucky man because he feels extremely lucky to be married to his wife, who sacrificed so much for him and takes care of him, and also feels lucky to be able to play with his kids. In addition, Michael J. Fox described what urged him to start the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which has the hope of one day finding a cure for his disease, and also described how he felt when he worked with Muhammad Ali to petition for more funds for the development of a cure.
Overall, I think this book was really well written because Michael J. Fox wrote it in a way so that anybody could relate to it. He also explained everything in a conversational matter and made it fun and interesting. I think that anyone who has seen Michael J. Fox's work in movies and in sitcoms would really enjoy this book, even if they have no idea what Parkinson's disease is.
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