This extraordinary statement was made by an extraordinary man, actor Michael J. Fox. My brother-in-law gave me this book, perhaps because he felt I could relate to someone else with a chronic, progressive, incurable illness. I picked it up that evening, figuring I'd maybe skim through the first chapter before putting it down to save for later. What happened was that I ended up reading about half of it, stopping only when I realized it was two hours past my bedtime. I finished it the next day.

I knew who Fox was, having seen the "Back to the Future" movies and thinking he seemed nice and was pretty cute. But that's all I knew, along with someone mentioning on the news that he had Parkinson's Disease. So my initial curiosity was what made me pick up the book. But it was his gift for writing well, and his complete honesty about himself and the world around him that had me glued to the pages.

Fox is Canadian by birth and grew up with four siblings. His father was in the military, and so the family had to move around a lot during Michael's childhood. His early interests included a passion for music; in fact, he belonged to a band while still in school and envisioned a career in rock and roll. But at 16, encouraged by his drama teacher, he auditioned for a part on a Canadian television show portraying a 12-year-old. He landed the role, and a professional actor was born.

Two years later, he moved to Los Angeles, acting in a few films and doing guest shots on several television show before being chosen to play Alex Keaton on "Family Ties" in 1982. Driven by a tireless work ethic (and a self-admitted aversion to the word "no"), he moonlighted by filming the "Back to the Future" movies at night and "Family Ties" episodes during the day. During the 1980's, it seemed Michael J. Fox was everywhere, and he responded with the life of carefree excess typical of the time.

Fate stepped in when he met and acted with Tracy Pollan on "Family Ties". She was grounded and sane, which gave Fox a sense of balance in his chaotic life. The two married in 1988. Without a loving and supportive wife, Fox might not have ever achieved a healthy attitude about the disease that befell him.

Fox first began experiencing an unexplainable tremor in 1990. A neurologist declared him fit and healthy at that time. A year passed before he developed more symptoms and was then diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson's Disease. He was 30 years old. In a state of denial, he consulted with two more neurologists, who both confirmed the bad news.

At first, Fox believed that admitting to anyone except the closest family and friends that he had Parkinson's would effectively kill his career. So he went to extraordinary measures to hide the tics and tremors. He was able to manage the symptoms with medication, but the timing of each and every pill was critical, and the stress of hiding his secret only added to his exhaustion caused by the illness. When shooting movies on locations around the world and across the country became too much to manage, he tried to work closer to home. But the odd hours of filming were difficult to accommodate. Looking for a gig with more regular hours led to the creation of "Spin City".

By the time Fox went public with his diagnosis and announced his retirement from the television series, he had finally become comfortable with the illness on his own terms and was able to handle the media onslaught and the public outpouring of grief. He began meeting others with Young Onset Parkinson's and realized that his notoriety could actually benefit those who were afraid to speak up and petition the federal government for proper funding for research. He is confident that a cure for Parkinson's will be found in his lifetime.

I recommend this book for both fans of Michael J. Fox and for people who want to learn what it is like to have Young Onset Parkinson's. The timeline in the book jumps around a bit and can be a little confusing to those with concentration problems, but the book is otherwise excellent. I liked Michael J. Fox before I read the book, but now, I admire him as well.