Story of Christy Brown [Paperback]

Christy Brown (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan (May 5, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330231812
• ISBN-13: 978-0330231817
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,068,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A struggle of a boy from during his journey from childhood.., December 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Story of Christy Brown (Paperback)

MY LEFT FOOT by Christy Brown is a true story of a young boy who grew up to be a man in a small town along with his handicaps. The look of pity Christy saw in a child's eyes, love a affection Christy got from his mother and a friend, and the help of Dr. Collis are the major steps that influenced Christy's journey from childhood to adulthood. It seems as Christy Brown always tried to hide from the society because he received pity and sympathy for his handicap from it. But when he decided to fight against his handicap, he only received encouragement; pride, not pity.

How cruel a simple look of pity could be? According to Christy's experience, it could be the most bitter and crushing thing one can ever experience. Christy was abnormal but he never thought about that. He always seems to enjoy life with his brothers. He knew that something is wrong somewhere, but what it is, he never thought about that. Life was a jolly good show for Christy until a friend, Jenny, looked at him with pity in her eyes. That simple look took away many things from Christy's life including his peace of mind. She made Christy realize how helpless he is. Because of the love and affection Jenny gave Christy, he had forgotten himself. "I (Christy) had almost forgotten myself. I had come to believe that there is no `difference' between myself and other people, except in my mind. It was great pleasure to lose myself in such a dream-world, in such an impossible paradise. It was pure joy to blind my eyes to every unpleasant fact about myself, even for a few weeks. But - it (look of pity) made the coming back reality all the more violent and bitter." (Page 74, lines 22-29)

After that incidence, Christy tried to avoid company. He made no new friends for almost three years after that. He quitted all his activities, and in his words, he would go out hardly once a year and even then he would go only to some place out of the city where there would be no one else but his family. He hated to receive pity and yet he believed that it is the only thing he will receive from the outside world. After that `look of pity,' Christy totally boycotted the society and locked himself up in his room, painting with his left foot, listening to the music, reading books, or simply thinking about his disabilities. He shut the outside world for himself because wanted to escape the sympathy and pity.

The bitter realization of his handicap could have taken Christy's life if his mother's love and Katriona Delahunt's affection wouldn't be there. Christy tried to commit suicide after that `look of pity' by throwing himself out of the window, but when he thought about all the love and affection he had received from his family and a friend, he stopped himself. It was impossible for Christy to live with a broken heart Katriona Delahunt made it possible for him. Katriona encouraged him to write, read, and paint. She made Christy feel important by asking him about his paintings. Katriona made Christy feel that he is not a waste in this world, he too can do something for others. It was only because of Katriona that Christy reached the turning point in his life, Lourdes. It was Katriona who arranged Christy's pilgrimage to Lourdes and did all the fundraising for it. Lourdes changed Christy's life, and gave him hope. Before the pilgrimage to Lourdes, Christy used to think of himself as `God's practical joke'. But Lourdes gave him the realization that he is not the only one, there are thousands in this world who are more helpless than him. Lourdes gave Christy's spirit a belief in God. It was only because of Katriona that Christy came out from the state of despair and saw hope for the first time in his life. That was the time when he decided to fight against his handicap. He got inspiration and encouragement from his whole family.

Lourdes and Katriona Delahunt gave Christy a week hope that he will recover while Dr. Collis changed it into a surety. Dr. Collis was the one who told Christy that he could recover. Dr. Collis took Christy to London for medical examination and then signed him for daily treatment in a local clinic. And because of the treatment Christy received in that clinic, he was able to walk, talk, and act a bit normal within a few years. It was also for Dr. Collis that Christy is know in the world today as a great writer, not as a crooked boy. He had the brilliantly imaginative and sensitive mind of a writer and a poet but he was never able to take full advantage of his abilities. Dr. Collis taught him how to use his writing talent and transformed him into one of the giants of Irish literature. When Christy first tried to write his autobiography, he wrote four hundred pages of `junk'. Feeling disappointed, he called for Dr. Collis not knowing what he is doing. He knew Dr. Collis as a friendly doctor and a kind human being. But because Christy was determined to fight against his handicap, nature helped him and Dr. Collis turned out to be a famous writer. Dr. Collis helped him with his writing skills by giving Christy dozens of writing tips. It was because of Dr. Collis' inspiration that Christy was able to rewrite his life story. On the third attempt, he was successful in his task by cutting his manuscript down to two hundred pages, about half of what he first had. He also simplified his book in such a way that it can be read by anyone who knows how to read. MY LEFT FOOT is written so beautifully that every word in it seems real. The reader can feel the emotions of Christy Brown while he was dealing with his cerebral palsy. Christy thought of himself as an unsuccessful person but through out the book it seems that every time he tried, he was successful. He always hated to get pity but when he decided that he want pride, not pity, he got it.

Christy Brown's difficult life shown by his book -My Left Foot proves that Christy was always afraid of the society, he tried to hide from it because society always gave him pity and sympathy. But when Christy decided to fight against his handicap, he received encouragement. He saw only pride, no pity. A look of pity destroyed his ambitions and his life, but the love of his family and friends, especially Katriona Delahunt, and training of Dr. Collis helped him to rebuild his life, his ambitions, and his goals. Christy's life story gives his readers hope. One would only feel confident about his/her future after reading this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TESTAMENT TO THE RESILIENCY OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT..., March 12, 2005

By 

Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Story of Christy Brown (Paperback)

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 at communication that was to change his life forever. 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.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My Left Foot by Christy Brown, May 24, 2001

By 

x_angelkisses_x (Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Story of Christy Brown (Paperback)

This book gives an uplifting account of Christy's battle with adversity. It is very emotional demonstrating hope and the love that everyone can use and learn something from. It is a incredible story of beating the obstacles that stand in our way. Sometimes people think that life is hard and unfair, it makes them want to give up but when you read this book you will come to realize; this is a story about a boy afflicted by cerebral palsy who's had a hard life but yet he still doesn't give up, he had to succeed and accomplish thigs with only his left foot. I would definitely recommend this book. It was written from the heart and shows the world through the eyes of a innocent person afflicted by cerebral palsy. This book is truly enlightening. After reading My Left Foot, it led me to understand more about what it is like to suffer from cerebral palsy and how hard it is for them to challenge it. Christy's life story gives readers hope about their future. I wouldn't mind reading this book over again.