Review of Michael J. Fox's "Lucky Man"

Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Why did I pick up this book?

1) I needed some optimism in my life.
2) I loved Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future and Spin City.

The book, like the man, is often charming. There is a lot of wit and humor here. At times, there is also a lot of honesty. But I have the feeling that most of the honesty has been left on the cutting room floor. Such is the downside to an autobiography written by a mainstream actor with an image to protect. The public persona cannot fall away completely to explore true pain. And where is the story without the pain? (I have a feeling those moments are only shared with his therapist.) In that way, biographies can sometimes be better than autobiographies.

The book, too, has a scattershot focus. At times, the book is weighted towards dealing with his Parkinson's Disease. Sometimes it deals with the idea of "luck" in life. Other times it deals with growing up and maturity. Other times, it gives a taste of the anecdotes of fame. I feel like a lot of this uneven weighting had to do with permission to tell certain stories and the need to preserve relationships.

Thus, there is a public relations benefit in not being completely honest and open. (Again, the therapist knows...and could probably write a more honest biography.)

That's not to say the book is completely dishonest. There is an attempt to share moments of pain in his life. I have no doubt that factual details are correct...but in order to be 100 percent honest, one has to make oneself 100 percent vulnerable. I never get a sense that Mr. Fox feels comfortable with this...(but he does admit that he is in therapy.)

There is also a tendency in the book toward "Mikesplaining". Instead of telling stories with scenes and dialogue and rich detail, there is a tendency for Mr. Fox to try to explain what's happening to him instead of showing us what's happening to him. Perhaps, again, this is his preference toward privacy and caution limiting what he can write and not write.

It's no "I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings"...but if you don't mind a little bit of the Lifetimeesque to your approach to life and tragedy, then this book is perfectly fine.

But "Great Scott" what about his relationship to Christopher Lloyd? There has been a grievous error in the book. An omission that can only be explained by the existence of time-space paradox. In order to correct this error, I will have to take the Delorian back to 2002, the year this book was published.

"Roads...where I'm going...they still use roads..."





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