My Left Foot (book)
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My Left Foot is the 1954 autobiography of Christy Brown, born on June 5, 1932, in Dublin, Ireland in poor conditions. His father was a bricklayer and his mother was a housewife. When Christy was four months old, his mother noticed he was having trouble with his motor abilities; Christy could not hold his head upright or control his body movements. After the family sought medical advice, their worst fears were confirmed: Christy had cerebral palsy. Although the doctors did not believe in Christy's mental intelligence, his mother did not lose faith in her son and supported him as a full member of the family.
Soon Christy discovered that he could control his left foot and toes. At the age of five, unable to speak or otherwise express himself, he showed his family the first sign of intelligence when he reached out for a piece of chalk and painted the letter "A" on the floor with his left foot and the help of his mother. Eventually he discovered his creative and artistic talent: he devoted himself to literature, writing and painting, still done with his left foot.
At the age of 18, Christy went to Lourdes in France, where he met people whose disabilities were even worse than his. There he experienced so much energy and hope that for the first time in his life he decided to accept himself as the person he is and do his best with it. He soon started a new treatment for cerebral palsy which lead to an improvement of his speech and physical control. At the same time, Christy began to write his autobiography, typing with the toe of his left foot.
My Left Foot was also made into a film starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown.
