My Left Foot

By Christy Brown

Book Overview

Christy Brown was born a victim of cerebral palsy. But the hapless, lolling baby concealed the brilliantly imaginative and sensitive mind of a writer who would take his place among the giants of Irish literature.

This is Christy Brown's own story. He recounts his childhood struggle to learn to read, write, paint and finally type, with the toe of his left foot. In this manner he wrote his bestseller Down all the Days.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0749391774
• ISBN13: 9780749391775
• Release Date: August 1997
• Publisher: Vintage Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.5" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

An inspirational book

This was a very inspiring book written by Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy, about his own life and the struggles that he had to overcome. Christy was born in 1933 in Ireland. Against many other's pushing to have Christy institutionalized, Christy's mother did not want to put him into an institution, therefore she kept him at home to be raised with the rest of the family. Christy surprised readers with his amazing abilities. He was able to communicate with his speech and his ability to write with his left foot. One night he lay on the kitchen floor, picked up a piece of chalk with his left foot and wrote, "mother" on the floor. This surprised his family and also gave them a lot of hope and faith in Christy. This is when Christy broke down the barriers of communication and started to overcome his physical disabity. He went through and overcame the struggles of reading, writing, painting and eventually typing. He was able to participate in many activities, such as playing in neighborhood games. He was a very extremely inspiring man who accomplished a great deal in his life. This book would be wonderful to use in the classroom to show students, who do not have a disability, how to understand what students with disabilities go through and their abilities and potentials.

A TRIUMPHANT AND INSPIRATIONAL STORY...

This is the story of a young man who was born in Ireland in 1932, after a difficult birth and with a severe disability that the doctors of the time were unable to name. They urged his parents to disavow him, as he was, they believed, an imbecile with a severely spastic body. Moreover, his parents then had five other children, all healthy. Christy's mother, however, refused to institutionalize him, keeping him at home and treating him as she would her other children. It would not be until years later that she would learn that Christy's affliction was severe cerebral palsy. Imprisoned in a world all his own and seeming without means to communicate, Christy, at the age of five, made an attempt that was to change his life forever. Rather than being imbecilic, Christy was actually highly intelligent. He took a piece of chalk with his left foot and, having captured the attention of his family, proceeded to scrawl on the floor a reasonable facsimile of the letter "A", astounding his loving family in the process. By breaking the communications barrier, Christy demonstrated that he could learn and understand. From then on, his capacity for learning was prodigious. Who would have thought that within his severely contorted and convulsed body lay a razor sharp mind and a thirst for knowledge? Certainly not the medical community, which had been so willing to consign him to institutional living. Armed with his left foot, the only part of his body over which he seemed to have some control, Christy Brown would demonstrate to the world who he really was. He was, after all, not the imbecile that the medical community had originally thought but an intelligent and sentient human being. This is Christy Brown's triumphant and inspirational story of his battle to learn to read, write, and paint, all with the aid of his left foot. It is an inspirational story of his quest for fulfillment. His yearning to be as others are is palpable, and his struggle for acceptance beyond the borders of his home and his physical limitations are well articulated. Christy Brown gives the reader a birds-eye view of what it is like to be a person with severe cerebral palsy. First published in Great Britain in 1954, when Christy Brown was twenty-two, this book, written with his left foot, is a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.

" Breathtaking!!"

The book "My Left Foot", was one of the best books I have read. It tells the life story of Christy Brown and how he still lived his life while his little body was twisted with a disease. I found it very touching at times and it made me happy to when he would over come bumps in his life. When he first made the letter "A" I was smiling from ear to ear. I would recommend this book to for anyone to read, especially to a mother with a disabled child. It really proves that no matter who you are, you can do anything you put your mind to. I can't wait to see the movie!

My Left Foot

I found Christy Brown's My Left Foot to be a fascinating read. It is the story of Christy's life and all the struggles he must overcome. Despite his disabilities, he was a multi-published author and an accomplished artist. He manages to do all these tasks with the use of his left foot. I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially to a parent of a disabled child. The story gives hope and inspiration. Being the mother of a child with cerebral palsy myself, I could really relate to the events in the novel.

This book is fantastic!

This book is truly enlightening. Through this book, Brown shows the world through the eyes of a cerebal palsic person, with ease and giving the reader time to think about how lucky they are. I would like to be able to contact Brown if he is still alive.