Christy Brown

Christy Brown was an Irish writer and painter who had cerebral palsy.

In reason of his cerebral palsy he had a problematic childhood, nobody wanted to be with him, except his family, and even them sometimes wanted to give up from him, and though that he was crazy, and couldn’t understand what was happening around him, but for their surprise he started to communicate with others and do some paitings only using his left foot (with was the only part of his body that he could fully control). Christy learned to both write and draw himself with his left leg

In his teenage years he showed a keen interest in the arts and literature, with was encouraged by a social worker called Katriona Delahunt, who used to carry books and panting materials for him, and also helped in his speech learning and physical training

Brown went to France and met individuals whose handicaps were even worse than his, and with this he could accepted himself as the person he was and started a new treatment for cerebral palsy.

After some years he decide to write a book of his history with was released on 1954.

Movie with the same name, telling his history, released on 1989 (after his death).

    

         

      

Literary legacy

—  1954 My Left Foot

—  1970 Down All the Days

—  1971 Come Softly to My Wake (Poems)

—  1973 Background Music (Poems)

—  1974 A Shadow on Summer

—  1976 Wild Grow the Lilies

—  1978 Of Snails And Skylarks

—  1982 A Promising Career (posthumous publication of his final work)

—  1991 The Collected Poems of Christy Brown (posthumous compilation of his three books of poetry)

In a party Christy meet Mary Carr, and then she became his nurse, and finaly, in 1972 they got married, but their relationship was really complicated in reason of her alcoholic habits and infidelity.

Brown's health had deteriorated after marrying Carr, and he became mainly a recluse in his last years.

Brown died at the age of 49 (1981). His body was found to have significant bruising what make many people believe that Carr had physically abused him.

He had a really complicated life, full of obstacles and challenges, but he got through and let a lot of lessons, here are some of them

       We can do/be what we want.

       We need to be happy with what we have and try to be better with it.

We don’t have to look only to our problems.