Christy Brown
(1932–1984)

Christy Brown's unique literary voice and the inspirational details of his life might have been lost to the wider world if he had not had the strong support of his family. Born with severe cerebral palsy, Brown was surrounded by a large, working-class Irish family who showered him with attention despite his limited mobility and inability to communicate. Brown's mother Bridget, in particular, refused to give up on her son. Her efforts to stimulate his mind and encourage him to emerge from his isolation resulted in a breakthrough at age five. Brown learned to write with the toes of his left foot.

Brown's breakthrough opened up whole new worlds. His newfound dexterity with his left foot allowed him to do things like move around more freely and even paint. More importantly, it allowed him to end his isolation and communicate with those around him. At the age of 18, Christy underwent experimental treatment to improve his speech and dexterity. Among other things, the doctors asked Brown to avoid using his left foot to reduce his dependence on it. The therapy was largely unsuccessful, but seeing others with cerebral palsy inspired Brown to write about his own life.

Initially, Brown honored his pledge to avoid using his left foot and dictated his memoirs to a younger brother instead. He was dissatisfied with the results of his dictation, though, and one day he seized the pen and began to write himself with his left foot. A tremendous weight lifted from Brown, as he found emotional release through the writing of his boyhood experiences. These writings eventually turned into his autobiography, My Left Foot (1954).

The tremendous popularity of My Left Foot made Christy Brown a recognized literary name in Ireland. It also gave him the resources to devote 15 years to writing his next book, Down All the Days (1970). This semi-autobiographical novel was praised for its effusive language and its detailed, often raw, depictions of working class Irish life. Over the remaining years of his life, Brown published three volumes of poetry and three more novels. His popular writings, his incredible life story, and the widely-seen movie version of My Left Foot each worked to accomplish Brown's stated goal in life: "to be remembered not for … human frailties or mannerisms, but for something … [he] achieved, left behind, something that reached and touched the lives of total strangers."

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