Michael J. Fox: No Time Like The Future: A Optimist Considers Mortality
Selected Excerpts
“Have I oversold optimism as a panacea, commodified hope? Have I been an honest broker with the Parkinson’s community? The understanding I’ve reached with Parkinson’s is sincere, but the expression of it risks being glib. I have made peace with the disease, and I might have presumed that others had, too. In telling other patients, “Chin up! It will be okay!” did I look to them to validate my optimism? Is it because I needed to believe it myself? Things don’t always turn out. Sometimes things turn shitty. I have to tell people the whole deal.”
“Really, it comes down to gratitude. I am grateful for all of it--every bad break, every wrong turn, and the unexpected losses -- because they’re real. It puts into sharp relief the joy, the accomplishments, the overwhelming love of my family. I can be both a realist and an optimist.
Lemonade, anyone?”
Discussion Questions
As he reflects on his reaction to a broken arm, Fox re-evaluates his optimist persona and whether he has been an “honest broker” with the Parkinson’s community. What parts of this passage resonate with you?
Fox offers up gratitude as the key to reconciling the conflict between optimism and realism. How do you feel about his conclusion?
What are you looking forward to in the next 12 months?
Reflections from #MedHumChat
“A lot resonates, especially, "Things don't always turn out. Sometimes things turn shitty. I have to tell people the whole deal" - probably since I'm biased and a lot of palliative care is hoping while preparing for badness, holding space for both” —@ShireenNHeidari
“The "having made peace" part. Is this really necessary? Has he actually made peace when he's looking at others for validation? Or is the "making peace" just another thing we have to say to make others/healthy people feel better?” —@AEBuechi
“The overuse of "it's OK", "it's really not that bad", instead of "oh golly, hours of pain at an 8 must have been hard", or "let's try another med to reduce your bone marrow aspiration anxiety since the first one didn't work. We do it all the time (dr & friends) to try to make people feel better, but sometimes you just have to acknowledge the pain, the anxiety & let things/people be miserable for awhile. Maybe then you can bring up the "everything will be OK". Maybe.” —@mcshannon17
About this #MedHumChat
No Time Like The Future: A Optimist Considers Mortality was paired with “Time to ditch ‘toxic positivity,’ experts say: ‘It’s okay not to be okay’” by Allyson Chiu for a MedHumChat on July 7, 2021 discussing The Power and Pitfalls of Optimism.
This chat and its accompanying discussion questions were curated by Matthew Tyler (@PalliDad).
About the Author
Michael J. Fox is an actor, author and philanthropist whose diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease inspired him to create The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.