Book Review
March 16th 2014
My Left Foot
Christy Brown
My Left Foot is an autobiography written by a boy named Christy Brown. Brown had a difficult birth and was born with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a condition that constitutes a physical disability in development; severity varies among the people who have cerebral palsy. In Brown’s case, he had a very severe level of cerebral palsy which affected his ability to use his limbs and to speak. Brown could not move any of his body parts the way he wanted to or communicate the way he wanted to. His autobiography takes the reader throughout the first half of his life which portrays his emotional and physical journey as well as how he had dealt with cerebral palsy and overcame the numerous challenges that came along with it. I was really moved by this autobiography, I could not put the book down. It is amazing to think that Christy Brown wrote this whole book only using his left foot.
Brown’s mother had a few complications with his birth, which was on June 5th 1932. At one year old, doctors officially said that there was something wrong with his development. They said that he was mentally and physically defective and that nothing could be done for him. No one had hope for Christy Brown, except his mother. His mother believed that his body may have been affected, but his mind was not. His mother would not stand for what the doctors had told her and set out to prove that Brown was not a useless human being, but rather filled with intelligence and potential.
At age five, Brown still could not move his limbs the way he wanted to or speak. His mother made time to read him books for hours and try to get him to engage in the questions she would ask or repeat some of the words. Although Brown understood what was going on around him, he could not show any signs of his understanding. He showed no sign of interest or movement except in his toes, especially his left foot. One day Brown’s siblings were drawing with chalk while he was propped up beside them with a few pillows. He was attracted to the piece of chalk and desperately wanted to use it. Without thinking, his left foot reached out and grabbed the chalk from his sister’s hand. Everyone was in complete shock, his mother immediately came over to him and tried to teach him to write simple letters like the letter A using his left foot. This was not easy for Brown, but the fact that he saw that everyone around him had hope encouraged him to keep trying until he was able to write the letter A. Tears streamed down his mother’s face, this was the one moment she had been waiting for which was to prove that her son’s mind was not affected by his condition of cerebral palsy. Brown eventually learned to communicate through his left foot.
Brown’s condition slightly improved over time, but he still had disadvantages because of his condition, he could not go to school with the other children and he could not walk or speak clearly. His mother tried her best to teach him how to read and write on her own time because she did not want him to fall behind and remain illiterate. Brown’s siblings did their best when it came to including him when they went out to play in the neighborhood by transporting him on a go-car. Brown tried not to think about the fact that he may have been different from anyone else. He was happy during the early stage of his childhood.
The day Brown’s go-car broke down cut him off from all outside activity. This was devastating for him; he spent a lot of his time alone in his room. As Brown grew older he began to notice how different he really was from everyone else, it bothered him how he was limited from so many things. At age ten, Brown began to believe himself, that he was helpless. He felt like he was in a prison being held back from anything and everything. Even mentally, copying words and letters down was no longer enough to satisfy him.
At age twelve, Brown discovered his joy for painting. He liked painting much more than copying words down. The fact that he could paint, made him happy again. At age fifteen, Brown went back to a very dark place. He began to believe that he was worthless and resented the world because of his crippled hands and twisted mouth. Painting no longer allowed for him to express his ideas and thoughts going through his mind at the time which led to the idea of writing his thoughts down on paper, like a journal. He later began to write stories.
At age seventeen, a doctor came to Brown’s house in hopes of trying to find a cure for cerebral palsy. This gave Brown new hope. The doctor’s name was Dr. Collis. He believed that it was possible for Brown to become cured eventually with a lot of hard work in the Cerebral Palsy Clinic in Dublin. Brown was already almost fully grown; therefore, he was not able to become fully cured from the help of Dr. Collis and his colleagues in the clinic. Brown had many experiences in the clinic which inspired him to write about them. He felt that he needed to “communicate it to others and make them understand” (Brown, 130). This was the beginning of the creation of his autobiography. Brown’s autobiography took a lot of dedication and hard work. It took many drafts before it was turned into My Left Foot. His book was first exposed at a Burl Ives concert in aid of cerebral palsy. The first chapter of his book was read on stage. People were so touched, they were crying and applauding. At this moment Brown felt a true sense of accomplishment and was at peace. He could now be happy despite all the challenges that were thrown his way.
I think the book My Left Foot and how it was written by Christy Brown himself, portrays how he was able to overcome many of the challenges in his life from his condition of cerebral palsy and accomplish many things. Brown describes many of his accomplishments throughout his book which made him experience joy in his life at the time, such as, writing words and painting with his left foot. His biggest accomplishment that put him at peace with himself was that fact that he was able to share his own story about his experiences living with his condition of cerebral palsy by creating this book, My Left Foot. This book is an inspiration for all the people that read it, at least it was for myself. It is proof itself that people with exceptionalities can do many things that other children do, with some adaptations. It is amazing how people with exceptionalities can adapt to many different aspects of life and successfully overcome their difficulties and challenges that they face daily. In Brown’s case, he adapted to his surroundings by learning to write, paint, and communicate etc with his left foot. His left foot was extremely important to him as it allowed him to express himself to others. I enjoyed how towards the end of the book, Brown shares his personal experience of writing My Left Foot. He portrays how it took a lot of hard work and dedication. It took a lot of time and many drafts before it became the published version that we read today.
I think that this book is important for people to read because of the fact that it portrays how some people with exceptionalities like Brown, face major struggles with being able to accept themselves for who they are. It is important for the people surrounding individuals with exceptionalities to try to create the most inclusive environment as possible so that they do not feel left out. Throughout his autobiography, Brown constantly wondered why he was different from everyone else and why he could not do things the same way that other children could. As he grew older, he spent the majority of his time in his room feeling sorry for himself. As his siblings grew into “self-supporting adults, [he] saw and felt his limitations, the boredom [and] the terrible narrowness of [his] own existence” (Brown, 69). Brown felt like he could not keep up with everyone around him which made him extremely depressed and caused him to resent the world because of his condition. I was delighted when I read that Brown had finally found peace within himself after he got to share his story on stage with everyone in the audience at the Burl Ives concert.
I was touched when Brown described how much his mother truly believed in him, it just goes to show how there is nothing greater than a mother’s unconditional love for her child. When the doctors, as well as Brown's family had no hope and believed that Brown should be institutionalized, his mother would not accept this conclusion. She was determined to prove that even though her son’s body was affected, his mind was not. As Brown grew up his mother was always by his side when he needed her. Even though Brown’s mother had many more children to care for she made the time to spend hours with him to read him books and teach him to write letters as well as words. She tried her best to help him in every way she could. His “mother was always a tremendous well of inspiration to” him (Brown, 70). When Brown’s book was first presented at the concert, everyone applauded not only for him, but also for his mother as she was given a bouquet of roses in appreciation. This portrays how much of an influence Brown’s mother has had on him, he would never have been as successful as he became without her supporting him in everything he did.
I would definitely recommend reading My Left Foot written by Christy Brown. It is a very touching and interesting story that is written by a boy only using his left foot. This autobiography outlines the difficulties that children with cerebral palsy face and how children like Christy Brown were able to overcome them in one way or another. His autobiography allows for the reader to experience his life as he was growing up and identify how he felt through these significant stages in his life. Brown’s autobiography is important to read as it portrays how people with exceptionalities face difficulties with accepting themselves for who they are, how they have to adapt to certain aspect of life which is a tremendous accomplishment and how family provides each other with the most support and care, like Brown’s mother.
Works Cited
Brown, Christy. My Left Foot. Simon and Schuster: New York. 1955. Print.
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