My Left Foot

My Left Foot is Christy Brown’s inspirational story of his early life, his battle against the restraints of cerebral palsy and his determination to learn to read, write, and paint, all with the aid of his left foot.

My Left Foot is Christy Brown’s inspirational story of his early life, his battle against the restraints of cerebral palsy and his determination to learn to read, write, and paint, all with the aid of his left foot.

This autobiography, published in 1954 when he was twenty-two, recounts his early life in Dublin – the poverty of his childhood, the support of his mother and his hope for a better life. Above all it describes his struggle to learn to read, write, paint and finally type, all with the toe of his left foot. Warm, honest and inspiring, this is a unique and captivating story of disability told by an extraordinary man.

‘Riveting, funny and inspiring’ Irish Times

‘His book, over and above the extraordinary achievement it reveals, is a testament to one man’s courage, a hope for others’ Kirkus Reviews

Author Biography

Christy Brown was born in 1932. He was one of 23 children born to a Dublin bricklayer. A victim of cerebral palsy, he could not control his speech or his movement, apart from his left foot. This enabled him to paint and type his autobiography My Left Foot. He later wrote an autobiographical novel, Down all the Days, which was very successful. His novels are A Promising Career, A Shadow on Summer and Wild Grow the Lilies, and he also published his poetry in Collected Poems. Christy Brown died in 1981.