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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

A Memoir of Life in Death

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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

By: Jean-Dominique Bauby
Narrated by: René Auberjonois
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Summary

 In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor-in-chief of French Elle, the father of two young childen, a 44-year-old man known and loved for his wit, his style, and his impassioned approach to life. By the end of the year he was also the victim of a rare kind of stroke to the brainstem. After 20 days in a coma, Bauby awoke into a body which had all but stopped working: only his left eye functioned, allowing him to see and, by blinking it, to make clear that his mind was unimpaired. Almost miraculously, he was soon able to express himself in the richest detail: dictating a word at a time, blinking to select each letter as the alphabet was recited to him slowly, over and over again. In the same way, he was able eventually to compose this extraordinary book.

By turns wistful, mischievous, angry, and witty, Bauby bears witness to his determination to live as fully in his mind as he had been able to do in his body. He explains the joy, and deep sadness, of seeing his children and of hearing his aged father's voice on the phone. In magical sequences, he imagines traveling to other places and times and of lying next to the woman he loves. Fed only intravenously, he imagines preparing and tasting the full flavor of delectable dishes. Again and again he returns to an "inexhaustible reservoir of sensations," keeping in touch with himself and the life around him.

Jean-Dominique Bauby died two days after the French publication of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

This book is a lasting testament to his life. Art & Literature Grief & Loss Journalists, Editors & Publishers Personal Development
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Critic reviews

“The book's tone, in Jeremy Leggatt's translation, is dominated by a sweet, even humorous, lyricism.” —The New York Times

“The real poignancy of these pieces is their ordinariness, [and their] moments of extraordinary sadness and beauty." —Publishers Weekly
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This book is both heart-breaking and uplifting. The author has suffered a stroke which has left him in `locked in syndrome`, his only means of communication is the flicker of his left eyelid, the way that he `dictated` the book. Poignantly he describes his life in hospital and the comings and going of the staff. The language is poetic as befits a former editor of a top magazine and the book is beautifully read. I was there in that hospital room observing the staff and the various ways they had of coping with a patient so severely disabled. There is no self pity in the writing, it has an ironic tone as his observations float from what is going on around him to events that occurred when he wsas still active. I would proscribe this book as compulsory reading to any one considering nursing the physically disabled. The writing is poetic and beautifully read.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

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