in september 1998 michael j fox stunned the world by announcing he had been diagnosed with parkinsons disease a degenerative neurological condition in fact he had been secretly fighting it for seven years the worldwide response was staggering fortunately he had accepted the diagnosis and by the time the public started grieving for him he had stopped grieving for himself now with the same passion humor and energy that fox has invested in his dozens of performances over the last 18 years he tells the story of his life his career and his campaign to find a cure for parkinsonscombining his trademark ironic sensibility and keen sense of the absurd he recounts his life from his childhood in a small town in western canada to his meteoric rise in film and television which made him a worldwide celebrity most importantly however he writes of the last 10 years during which with the unswerving support of his wife family and friends he has dealt with his illness he talks about what parkinsons has given him the chance to appreciate a wonderful life and career and the opportunity to help search for a cure and spread public awareness of the disease he is a very lucky man indeed