By Shannon McKenna
Round Table editor

“I woke up to find the message in my left hand. It had me trembling. It wasn’t a fax, a telegram, memo, or the usual sort of missive bringing disturbing news. In fact, my hand held nothing at all. The trembling was the message.”

I can’t imagine what it would be like to not have control over part of my body. Waking up with my hand or finger shaking uncontrollably, completely unable to stop it even though I try my hardest, would be the scariest thing I can imagine.

Actor, director, husband and father, Michael J. Fox is living and coping with the relentless damages that comes with Parkinson’s disease. The book Lucky Man describes his childhood up to the last ten years when he started to deal with the disease.

Even though he’s dealing with a disease that is slowly tearing him apart, Fox still manages to have a bright outlook on life. When he was first diagnosed, almost a whole decade after he first showed signs of having Parkinson’s, the doctor told him “you can probably continue acting for another ten years,” and the doctor was right almost to the exact day.

Lucky Man really goes deep into Fox’s life, and when I read it I could really feel all the emotions he put into the book. No one wants to find out there is something wrong with them, and even when the terrible news comes he still manages to keep living his life to its fullest.

Over his lifetime Fox has acted in many popular movies and shows such as the “Back to the Future” saga, “Doc Hollywood” and “Family Ties” but his acting has slowly been coming to a halt as the disease worsens over the years.

Although biographies and autobiographies aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, the book is really heartwarming and full of ironic humor. The insight Fox writes with is just breathtaking as he relates all the events that he has dealt with throughout his life.

So for readers who have some free time to pick up a book, even if it’s not their favorite type of story, it’s worth reading.  Every book that’s sold goes to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, so even just buying the book, not even reading it; it’s helping a great cause.

For more information on his book and foundation can be found at http://michaeljfox.org/