My Left Foot is the autobiography of Christy Brown who was born on June 5, 1932 in Dublin in poor conditions, his father is a bricklayer and his mother housewife. When he is four months old, his mother first notices that there is something wrong with her child. Christy is unable to hold his head upright and cannot control his body movements. When the family seeks medical advice their worst fears are confirmed: their son is physically handicapped and suffers from an affliction called cerebral palsy. Although the doctors do not believe in Christy's mental intelligence, his mother never loses faith in her son and supports him wherever she can. He is a full member of the family.

Soon Christy discovers that for some strange reason he is able to control his left foot and his toes. At the age of five he shows his family the first sign of intelligence when he reaches out for a piece of chalk and paints the letter “A” on the floor with his left foot and the help of his mother. From this moment on Christy has found a way to express himself because he is not able to speak like a healthy 5-year-old.

Time goes by and painfully he begins to realize that he is different from his family and friends. At this point of his life he discovers his creative and artistic talent: he is devoted to literature, writing and painting, still done with his left foot.

At the age of 18 Christy goes to Lourdes in France where he meets people whose handicap is even worse than his. There he experiences so much energy and hope that for the first time in his life he decides to accept himself as the person he is and do the best out of it. Soon he starts a new treatment for cerebral palsy which leads to an improvement of his speech and physical control.

At the same time Christy makes the first attempt to write his autobiography. What sounds like Charles Dickens in the beginning changes into the moving story of his life, written in an easy but meaningful language and typed with the toe of his left foot.

My Left Foot was also made into a film starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown.