I wanted to let you know that Michael J. Fox's appearance today on Oprah kicks off a media blitz over the coming weeks where he will be talking about his new book, Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. His publisher describes the book, which hits stores today, as "a memoir of this last decade, told through the critical themes of Michael’s life: work, politics, faith, and family. The book is a journey of self-discovery and reinvention."

You can visit www.michaeljfox.org for an up-to-date listing of upcoming interviews and media coverage of Always Looking Up.

If you want to purchase Michael's book, visit:
Amazon.com | BarnesandNoble.com | IndieBound.org | Borders.com

Debi

i hear they are going to be talking about dystonia on the show - is that separate from Michael? it's sure one of the very worst conditions of all in ths disease.

thanks debi,
paula

I preordered his book on Amazon; it shipped Sunday; should have it Thursday.

Looking forward to Oprah this afternoon - here's a link to a preview; seems it will be a very moving and informative program.

http://www.oprah.com/index

Debi,

Pardon me for veering slightly off-topic and belatedly congratulating you and the MJFF team for using Neurotalk as a place for information-exchange with ordinary PWP. It is a tremendous step forward for the community.

I'm looking forward to watching Oprah today and following the upcoming media blitz.

Greg Wasson

as usual, very enjoyable. i like the "my body language is lying" or however he put it.

but on skates he's smooth moving, as many of us feel when dancing and stutterers when singing.

i also tilt to the side with dystonia when i am off. it's painful and quite debilitating. showing a younger, successful female movie producer with it helps people to understand that it happens to young people - it can happen to anyone. you are still you, not that handicapped person.

we are lucky to have michael to get thru this with; as Dr. Oz said, "he is fearless." [that could be a brain thing....just kidding!]

thanks to mike for telling it like it is - for not letting anything get in the way of the truth.....in the quest for what is real.

pardon me, i don't watch Oprah, haven't for years and years. who is Dr. Oz?

paula

I recently started leaninjg to the right when I 'm sitting relaxiing. I have no pain and if I 'm doing something ( reading, going through the mail) I don't lean. Strange -

Debi, Let me add my belated thanks to Greg's! I was at PAN (as was Greg) and heard Katie talk about changing the model of working with patients -- she mentioned the book "What would Google Do?" and mentioned writing and receiving feedback on blogs. And I had a big DUH-AHA moment - about Neurotalk and your participation!

Your postings / responses here are appreciated tremendously. And thanks to you to Katie and the MJFox Foundation for changing the model for exchanging information with patients.

Jean Burns, pdplan4life.com

PS I will be looking for "What Would Google Do" and of course for the new Michael J Fox book as well.

I tried and I missed it and now I can't find the whole show intact online. I'm really curious... Did he talk about any of the psychological symptoms like depression, lethargy, anxiety, emotions, etc? It seems these symptoms are taboo to talk about publicly. I find even specialists like to gloss over these symptoms because often they can' t do much about them.

Hi Lethe,

You have touched on the only criticism I have had of that genuinely nice person, Mike Fox, and that was that he's so upbeat that some of my relatives don't quite get why I'm not dancing around the room all the time (instead of the twice a day I can manage). Now I take back my criticism, because it's attitude that lets us be lifted up to where we can be free, and he is a great role model, however, I do echo Lethe's question. I missed it, too.

Jaye

Re: Depression

Because the Oprah show also featured a young woman with dystonia, I kind of thought of the whole topic more narrowly focused on the physical aspects – so the omission didn’t bother me. Also, MJF hasn’t suffered from depression, so I don’t think it’s a natural part of his public discussion of living with PD.

The good news is that he addresses it early in his new book, “Always Looking Up,” page 26:

“My interactions with the larger PD population put another dimension of my good fortune into stark relief. For whatever reason, I had been spared the torture of depression. By this, I don’t mean that I hadn’t had bouts of sadness, fear, or anxiety about my situation, although at times I had to cut through a layer of denial to recognize it. But clinical depression is a common symptom faced by approximately 40 percent of PD patients. Like dementia, it may be present from the beginning, appear over time, or show up suddenly in the later stages. As I said though, apart from the expected ups and downs of a life with Parkinson’s, I don’t struggle with the chemical imbalance that triggers severe depression.

I never logged out of the online PD forums without realizing how fortunate I was. My family, my relative youth, my financial situation, as well as my public position gave me a tremendous advantage in dealing with my illness.”