I had never been a fan of Michael J. Fox. I didn't dislike him, but I didn't especially like him either. I didn't decide to read this book based on my taste for him as an actor. I saw a review of the book in my mom's copy of Goodhousekeeping magazine and it sounded like exactly what I needed at the time--the adventures of an incurable optimist.

Throughout the book there are beautiful nuggets of spiritual wisdom sprinkled throughout. The book isn't so much of chronological retelling of events, but more like personal musings of various themes of his life. His thoughts and feelings about living with Parkinson's Disease are deep and wise. Not officially a spiritual teacher, Fox is clearly a spiritually advanced being. As I come from a yogic spiritual tradition, I immediately make parallels between his declarations and yogic teachings.

Here are some of my favorite passages:

re: Decision to retire from Spin City
Not a hard decision to make, but a hard decision to have made.

re: Creating a foundation for the research of Parkinson's
What led me to that choice may have been God or may have just been an emerging practical need to do something positive. The purpose that you wish to find in life, like a cure you seek is not going to fall from the sky...It requires the faith to take risks and a rejection of the bonds of fear. I believe purpose is something for which one is responsible; it's not just divinely assigned.

re: Discovering having PD
You can take an opinion, rationalize it, and turn it back on those show offer it up as being their projections onto your reality. But it's rare that someone can present you with some great immutable truth about yourself--something so surprising, out of left field, that you don't even have the luxury of denial....We do so much to protect ourselves from the truth, but what I have learned and drawn strength from...is that the truth protects us from ourselves. That is, of course, if we can recognize and trust it.

re: Life
My own experiences have instilled a belief that life is a gift. Recognizing that truth and being humbled by it makes me appreciate that I am part of something great and timeless.

I was expecting to have an immediate and constant feeling of gratitude for my own life as I read this book, expecting to hear all about the struggles and hardships that he Fox and his family are forced to endure. But instead, aside from overt passages about the challenges of living with PD, I would totally forget that he has any sort of illness. Michael J. Fox is so active, so full of life, that the picture I held in my mind of someone with PD did not so much resemble the life of the man I was reading in the book. So, it was only when I paused at times, finished a chapter, and then finished the book, that I thought to myself, "Wow. I can't believe that this guy has PD. I can't believe that someone with such an illness could live so fully." And of course, it made me take a look at the quality of my own life as a healthy person and the potential of how rich and fulfilling it really could be. Thank you, Michael.

I never received my book on optimism, nor any reply after trying to contact 4 times, nor a refund. I obviously would NOT recommend.