Author Guide · Memoir
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Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, at the height of the fame that Family Ties and Back to the Future had brought him, and kept it private for seven years. His books are the long version of what happened next. The first, Lucky Man, came out in 2002; the audiobook of the second, Always Looking Up, which he narrated himself, won a Grammy in 2010. Four of the five are about living with an illness that has no cure; the fifth goes back to 1985 and the film that made him famous. This guide covers his five key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 5 key books · 2002–2025 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Michael J. Fox has written five books: Lucky Man (2002), Always Looking Up (2009), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future (2010), No Time Like the Future (2020) and Future Boy (2025), written with Nelle Fortenberry. Start with Lucky Man, which tells the story of his diagnosis and the years before he went public.
Where to Start with Michael J. Fox
If you want the whole story from the beginning
→ Lucky Man (2002) — diagnosis, denial and going public.
If you want the book that won the Grammy
→ Always Looking Up (2009) — the decade after he went public.
If you want his later years
→ No Time Like the Future (2020) — surgery, a fall and the limits of optimism.
If you want the Back to the Future story
→ Future Boy (2025) — the making of the film that made him famous.
5 Michael J. Fox Books, in Order
Lucky Man
His first book, published by Hyperion. The centre of the book is his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 1991, the seven years in which he kept it private, his decision to stop drinking, and his public announcement in 1998.
Always Looking Up
Published by Hyperion, it covers the decade from 1999 to 2009, much of it taken up with his campaigning for stem-cell research. His own narration of the audiobook won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album in 2010.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future
Published by Hyperion, a book about the lessons he took from the twists and turns of his life, as its subtitle says.
No Time Like the Future
Published by Flatiron Books, this book covers a hard stretch: surgery on his spine to remove a benign tumour and a fall in which he broke his arm, while Parkinson’s progressed. It also explains why he stopped acting in 2020: his speech had become unreliable.
Future Boy
Written with Nelle Fortenberry and published by Flatiron Books, the book goes back to the making of Back to the Future (1985). It is the only one of his books centred on a single film rather than on his illness.
In What Order to Read Michael J. Fox
Read them in publication order. Each book picks up where his life stood at the time of writing, so together they form a running account of living with Parkinson’s from the early 1990s onwards.
Future Boy is the exception: it goes back to 1985 and can be read on its own, before or after the others. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future is the easiest to skip.
A reading path
1. Lucky Man (2002)
2. Always Looking Up (2009)
3. No Time Like the Future (2020)
4. Future Boy (2025)
The years · 1961–2025
Quick facts about Michael J. Fox
- Known for
- Michael J. Fox is known for Family Ties and the Back to the Future films, and for his work for Parkinson’s research after his own diagnosis.
- 1961
- Born in Edmonton, Alberta
- 1985
- Back to the Future
- 1998
- Announces his Parkinson’s diagnosis
- 2002
- Lucky Man
- 2025
- Future Boy
- Born
- 9 June 1961, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Diagnosis
- Parkinson’s disease, 1991; made public in 1998
- Foundation
- The Michael J. Fox Foundation, founded in 2000
- Documentary
- Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023), directed by Davis Guggenheim
- Honours
- Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (2022); Presidential Medal of Freedom (2025)
- Books
- Five, 2002–2025
The red mark is 2002: Lucky Man, the memoir in which he first told the full story of his diagnosis.
How Michael J. Fox Writes: Illness Without Self-Pity
Fox writes in the first person, with the timing of a comic actor: short scenes, a joke at his own expense, then the serious point. His subject in four of the five books is the same, living with Parkinson’s, but each book catches him at a different stage of the disease.
The books are structured differently. Lucky Man tells the story of his diagnosis and going public; Always Looking Up covers the decade that followed; No Time Like the Future centres on a difficult period after spinal surgery; Future Boy zooms in on a single film.
Optimism is named in two of the subtitles, and the later books test it: No Time Like the Future is in part about what happens to his optimism when things go badly. For more books on living through illness, see Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air and the reading list on resilience.
Watch
Michael J. Fox on No Time Like the Future
Michael J. Fox talks to CBS about his memoir No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality.
Frequently asked questions about Michael J. Fox’s books
How many books has Michael J. Fox written?
Five: Lucky Man (2002), Always Looking Up (2009), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future (2010), No Time Like the Future (2020) and Future Boy (2025).
What are Michael J. Fox’s books in order?
Lucky Man: A Memoir (2002), Always Looking Up (2009), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future (2010), No Time Like the Future (2020) and Future Boy (2025).
Where should I start with Michael J. Fox?
With Lucky Man. It tells the story of his diagnosis and of going public with it in 1998, which the later books take for granted.
What is Michael J. Fox’s most famous book?
Lucky Man (2002), his first memoir, about his career and his Parkinson’s diagnosis. Always Looking Up (2009) is the one whose audiobook won a Grammy.
Did Michael J. Fox write his books himself?
The first four are credited to Fox alone. Future Boy (2025) was written with Nelle Fortenberry.
Does Michael J. Fox narrate his audiobooks?
He narrated Always Looking Up himself, and that recording won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album in 2010.
What is Future Boy about?
It is about the making of Back to the Future (1985). It was written with Nelle Fortenberry and published in 2025.
Is there a film about Michael J. Fox’s life?
Yes. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023), a documentary directed by Davis Guggenheim for Apple TV+, tells his life story.
When was Michael J. Fox diagnosed with Parkinson’s?
In 1991. He kept it private until 1998, a story he tells in Lucky Man. He founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000.
Footnotes
- Michael J. Fox — Wikipedia
- List of awards and nominations received by Michael J. Fox — Wikipedia
- Insider details on Future Boy and co-author Nelle Fortenberry — Michael J. Fox Foundation
- Michael J. Fox reconsiders optimism in No Time Like the Future — NPR
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
“Not being able to speak reliably is a game-breaker for an actor.”
— Michael J. Fox, No Time Like the Future (2020)
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