No time like the future An optimist considers mortality

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend creator Bloom offers burst-out-loud-laughing personal essays that explore feeling uncomfortably different from others and finally realizing that she's not (200,000-copy first printing). Back to the Future Fox focuses on issues of hope, fear, toughness, and being realistic as he explains his struggles with Parkinson's and spinal-cord surgery that led to his learning to walk again in No Time Like the Future (350,00-copy first printing). What long-running TV show, now moving from strictly syndication to streaming, is the subject of McNear's Answers in the Form of Questions (60,000-copy first printing)? From Maerz, founding editor of New York magazine's Vulture website, Alright, Alright, Alright shows how Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused proved to be an unexpected success and the making of stars like Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey, and Ben Affleck (75,000-copy first printing). And New York Post theater columnist Riedel ranges from Jonathan Larsen's Rent to Disney's The Lion King as he portrays recent Midas-touched Broadway theater in Singular Sensation (100,000-copy first printing).

In his fourth book, Fox expresses gratitude for the past and looks to the future with a firm grasp on how to be "both a realist and an optimist." Though the actor, activist, and author has lived a blessed life, he has also faced plenty of adversity. In 1991, at 29, following early success with Family Ties, Teen Wolf, and the Back to the Future series, he was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson's disease, a devastating blow that would stop many people in their tracks. But Fox continued to work. After his diagnosis, he had roles in Spin City, Rescue Me, Boston Legal, and The Michael J. Fox Show, among other TV show and film appearances. In his latest book, the author, who has recently suffered from a spinal cord issue, is both optimistic and self-reflective: "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." Fox is refreshingly candid about his latest ailment, which has necessitated frequent use of a wheelchair. He gracefully takes readers on his journey from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for the risky surgical procedure and then New York City for intense rehab, and he praises his compassionate doctors and their top-notch care. The tone of the memoir is not entirely somber; though Fox ponders death, he also shares memories of a safari in Tanzania and a trip to Mount Everest: "Flying over the Himalayas is like housesitting for God." Throughout, the author clearly expresses his love for his family: his wife of 30 years, Tracy Pollan Fox, their four children, and Gus, the family dog. A heartfelt, unselfish book about never giving up that should serve as good motivational material for readers. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.