Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist by Michael J. Fox

               In an interview I was reading, an actor brought up the subject of positivity.  The article did not go into detail about the actor’s thoughts in regards to positivity, it simply mentioned it was one of the topics of conversation, but I still immediately thought of Michael J. Fox’s book Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist.  It was a book I had read before and it always seems to come to mind when someone brings up positivity and optimism.  The reason this happens is not only is it a good book, but because Mr. Fox seems to take a different stance on positivity and optimism.  My perception of the traditional thinking of positivity and optimism is that in order to be considered either a positive person or an optimist one must be that way all the time.  Dark thoughts can never enter your mind.  Ever.  If they do, nothing good will ever come your way.  This, of course, is an extreme generalization, but that is what I feel is being said when these topics are discussed.  In fact, that is exactly what I felt when a few days after reading the interview, I saw an entirely different person bring up positivity on a TV show.  Again I thought of Mr. Fox’s book, and I knew I had to read it again.

                The book is broken into four parts: Work, Politics, Faith, and Family.  In the first part, “Work”, Mr. Fox talks about how drastically his career has changed over the years.  Most of his life was spent as an actor, but a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease changed that.  While working on the show Spin City (where the book starts) Mr. Fox came to realize that his Parkinson’s had gotten to the point that it was difficult for him to perform every day as he would like to.  He decided to leave the show even though he did not have any idea what would come next in his life.  Fortunately for Mr. Fox, it did not take long for him to find out.  Shortly after leaving Spin City, Mr. Fox, encouraged by those around him, started the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.  It is a foundation that still stands today.

                After the “Work” section came “Politics”.  In many ways these two sections are connected as Mr. Fox’s work in politics is directly related to his new career path.  Determined to find a cure for Parkinson’s, Mr. Fox worked with and supported political candidates who were for embryonic stem cell research.  Representing only himself, and not his foundation for legal reasons, Mr. Fox made commercials and went to rallies for any candidate who supported his cause.  It did not matter what side of the political aisle they were on.  If they believed in supporting stem cell research, they had Mr. Fox’s support.  Unfortunately, these actions did lead to some nasty criticisms and false accusations from those who did not like what he was doing.  This, however, did not stop Mr. Fox.  He kept going with his political activities.  No matter what his detractors said, Mr. Fox stayed determined to work and stand up for what he believed was right.

                The “Faith” section takes a bit of a different turn.  Moving away from his career, Mr. Fox talks about religion and how it involves his family.  His wife, Tracy Pollan, is Jewish, and even though Mr. Fox is not, they have decided to raise their children in the Jewish religion.  As a result, Mr. Fox has become very accepted into the Jewish faith and community.  In fact, he has been so accepted, that people have a tendency to forget that Mr. Fox isn’t Jewish himself.  His own kids even forget at times.  These occurrences just go to show the respect Mr. Fox has for the Jewish faith, as he does for all faiths.  Throughout the section Mr. Fox talks about how people live by their faiths and that it is okay for people to believe in different things.  That what is really important is that people listen to each other.  I mean truly listen to each other.  Even when someone is saying something you don’t agree with.  By showing the respect of listening, you really do create a more understanding, and thoughtful, place.     

                “Family” is the last, and probably my favorite section.  In it, Mr. Fox talks about how much his family means to him and the lengths he will go to care for them.  Then he talks about how the care goes the other way as well.  Mr. Fox loves his family and does not overlook the things they do for him.  This is especially true with his wife.  Ms. Pollan is a huge support for Mr. Fox, in every aspect of his life.  Having been married since the late 1980s, Ms. Pollan has been with Mr. Fox throughout much of his career as well as his battle with Parkinson’s.  She has learned how to help Mr. Fox when his condition acts up, and she does it with care and understanding.  Not everyone would be that way when facing what this couple is facing.  The fact that she is this way in such a challenging situation shows how great of a woman Ms. Pollan truly is. 

                Actually, the relationship between Mr. Fox and Ms. Pollan is what I like most about this book.  All too often spouses get pushed to the side and taken for granted during the course of life.  This is not necessarily intentional, but it does happen, even in families that aren’t dealing with a condition like Mr. Fox’s.  That is not what happened in this family and that is why I admire it so much.  Even after all their years of marriage, and all they have been through, Mr. Fox continues to appreciate everything Ms. Pollan does.  Whether it’s for him or the children, he acknowledges her efforts and continues to love her more every day.  To top it off, Mr. Fox is not embarrassed to say it either.  It is very refreshing to see such love and affection.  I really hope that everyone who reads this book, or even just this post, takes note. 

                 Even though this book is about optimism, I never felt beaten over the head with it. Instead I felt as though I was reading a memoir that happened to be written by someone who uses optimism as a way of life. That’s not to say there aren’t any dark thoughts. I’m sure there are at times, but Mr. Fox does not let these thoughts hang around and follow him day after day. This, in my book, gives him a different form of optimism. One that does not get talked about as much. Instead of acting as though there can never be any bad, Mr. Fox acknowledges it, then works for the good. It’s just one of the many ways I believe a person can be optimistic. Everyone goes through this life differently. It only makes sense that would stand for optimism as well.