A real optimist

By Samuel Moore-Sobel

“If there’s something you know you can do…and your mind keeps throwing up roadblocks, just know you can drive right through them.”

This was said by Michael J. Fox, when he appeared as Dr. Kevin Casey in a guest role on Scrubs. Scrubs was my favorite sitcom as a teenager, and I could think of no better combination: my favorite actor on my favorite sitcom, offering optimistic words of hope.

Fox references this guest role on Scrubs in his most recent memoir, No Time Like the Future. The episode marked the beginning of his return to acting. He had declared his retirement in the year 2000 at the age of 40 due to his Parkinson’s diagnosis. Yet that didn’t keep him down for long. If there is anything true about Michael J. Fox, it’s that he has a penchant for second acts. “In retrospect, I may have jumped the gun,” he writes.

Despite his ability to continue acting, his life is still dominated by Parkinson’s. But Fox has proven that he is not defined by his diagnosis. “After thirty years of Parkinson’s, I have established a sort of détente with the disease,” he writes.

Throughout the book, readers follow Fox as he wrestles with his health, the recovery process, the realities of aging, and his mortality. Fox’s account is powerful in its authenticity and relatability. He presents an image of an aging man who is coming to grips with his legacy. The circumstances of his health have forced his hand, leading Fox to question his previous adherence to a worldview steeped in optimism.

Fox finds his way through eventually, but not before taking readers along for the ride. He finds out he has a rare tumor in his back, and makes the decision to undergo surgery, despite the risks. After all, he’s rolled the dice before, such as when he left home in pursuit of an acting career. “If you don’t take risks, there’s no room for luck,” he writes. “I took a chance. I got lucky.”

The details he includes surrounding his recovery from spinal surgery are poignant. He shares his unvarnished thoughts and feelings, conversations with doctors, the pain and loss of independence, and the work it takes to heal. While his specific circumstances might be unique, Fox’s story is truly a human one.

In the book, Fox writes about meeting a man named Derek who served in the military and endured treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. “I just wanted to tell you that, because, you know, you’ve helped me a lot.” Fox was touched. “It stirred a feeling of gratitude: that through my example of living with adversity, I was able to positively affect someone else’s life,” he writes.

Fox doesn’t know it, but he did the same for me. Lucky Man and Always Looking Up were the first books I read after the accident (once I had healed enough to focus my eyes on the page). His story gave me hope. If this man could overcome the challenges associated with being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, then I could overcome everything that came after being burned by sulfuric acid.

Instead of doing away with optimism completely, Fox builds on his previous books by offering a more nuanced and grounded view of optimism. “With gratitude, optimism becomes sustainable,” he writes.

It’s likely we won’t be seeing Fox on the big screen anytime soon. He writes in this book that he has entered “a second retirement.” He seems at peace with this decision. “I’m not sure it ever did, but especially now, my work as an actor does not define me,” he writes. Neither does his struggle with Parkinson’s. One of the many lessons from Fox’s life is that we are more than our careers, successes, failures, and diagnoses.

Fox’s story is one of adversity, pain and suffering. Yet it is also one of joy, perseverance, and meaning. “I can be both a realist and an optimist,” he declares near the end of his book. I believe that the rest of us can, too.

Samuel Moore-Sobel is the author of Can You See My Scars? His book is available on Amazon. To read more of his work, visit www.samuelmoore-sobel.com.