Why read a book about a foot? Because this is no ordinary foot. It is the left foot of a man born with cerebral palsy. But more than that: it is the only means through which he can express to the world around him his affection, his friendship, his thoughts, his emotions, his sorrows and joys. A foot that writes. A foot that paints. A foot that thinks. A beautiful and accessible story—easy to read, to share, to give to a friend.
Christy Brown was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1932 with severe cerebral palsy. In 1949 he underwent specialized treatment that helped improve his muscle coordination. Written in the first person, this memoir recounts his life experience. Published in 1954 and translated into Italian in May 1990, the book found its way to Italian readers thanks in part to cinema and the 1989 Academy Award for Best Picture.
The book is divided into two parts.
The first describes the discovery of his illness and Christy's urgent need to communicate with those around him—his family above all. The pivotal moment comes when his left foot grasps a piece of clay from his sister's hands and, to everyone's astonishment, traces a letter of the alphabet on the floor. With his mother's help, Christy learns to make himself understood through writing and to express his feelings through painting. His foot has become his truest friend. In these opening chapters, we learn about his childhood among brothers and sisters in a humble home where the family plays, prays, loves, and suffers together. The first part ends with a pilgrimage to Lourdes, where he prays for a miracle that never comes.
The second part traces the transformation in Christy's physical condition. In a way, it is the miracle he had sought. Medical science, armed with new discoveries and years of research, meets this courageous young man halfway. New therapies for cerebral palsy improve his physical and mental condition. New experiences kindle his desire to write better, to study literature, so that he might tell the world what he thinks and feels.
The most moving moment in the book—reminiscent of C. Nolan's story—comes when Christy reads passages from his own writing to an assembled group of people concerned with the lives of disabled persons. Together with a bouquet of roses, his words are an offering of love and gratitude to his mother, who always believed in him, who treated him as she did his siblings, who loved and cared for him. Without her, Christy Brown's life would have been unbearable.
- Teresa Barnes, 1991