Beatle Lookalike With Parkinsons Writes Book With Son

DENVER - Jan. 9, 2014 - PRLog -- DENVER: When Paul McCartney lookalike Mike Oltersdorf was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2005, he started sharing an uplifting message with the masses through entertainment and inspiration. He began writing a book to share his lessons with others, but when his physical and cognitive symptoms left him unable to finish the book, his son Dan took over. Now father and son are working together to fund the publication and distribution through the crowdfunding site IndieGogo. See the campaign and a 3 minute video at http://www.newnormbook.com.

Mike describes his message and journey using the McCartney song Blackbird: “In Blackbird, Paul wrote, ‘take these broken wings and learn to fly.’ Everyone has a broken wings story. Mine happens to be Parkinson’s Disease. If we can take our broken wings and learn to fly, we can make a real difference.”

Through it all, he maintains a good sense of humor. When his Parkinson’s started affecting his work as a lookalike, he said “there’s been a skinny Elvis and a fat Elvis, but there was never a shaky Paul.” He jokes now that he is not only a celebrity look-alike, but also a celebrity shake-alike. “I look a bit like Paul, and shake like Michael J Fox,” referring to the well-known actor and Parkinson’s activist, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1991.

In 2008, he started writing a book to share his lessons with others. The book is called The New Norm, focusing on how to thrive amidst new and changing realities and challenges. As his Parkinsons progressed, both the physical and cognitive symptoms left him unable to finish the book. His son Dan took over and completed it in December of 2013. “These lessons from my dad are all about leaving a legacy, so it’s actually very fitting that I am able to step in and continue to share the lessons my dad has instilled in me and used to inspire many others,” shares Dan.  “We are excited to see this message reach a lot of people and make a real impact.”

The father and son team are now working together to fund the publication and distribution of the book through the crowdfunding site IndieGogo. Here, people can contribute to the project and secure copies of the book, donate books to others, book speeches with Dan & MIke, and get other perks for offering support to get this project off the ground. Using proceeds from the book, Dan & Mike will support causes related to Parkinson’s and continue to work to get the message of The New Norm to those who need it.