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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
First published 1997
About the book
In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor in chief of French Elle, the father of two young children, a forty-three-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 brain stem. After twenty days in a coma, Bauby awoke into a body that had all but stopped working: only his left eye functioned, allowing him to see and, by blinking, to make clear that his mind was unimpaired.
Read the full description
Almost miraculously, he was soon able to express himself in the richest detail, blinking to select letters one by one as a special alphabet was slowly recited to him, over and over again. In the same way, he was eventually able 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 in his body. He explains the joy, and the 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; of lying next to the woman he loves.
Readers on Hardcover call it emotional, reflective and sad.
About the author
Subjects
Catalogue record
- Author
- Bauby, Jean Dominique, 1952–1997
- Statement
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly / Jean Dominique Bauby.
Book facts
- Pages
- 139
- Original language
- French
- ISBN
- 978-0-00-730883-5
4 more ISBNs
- 978-0-00-861003-6
- 978-0-679-46084-8
- 978-0-375-40115-2
- 978-0-00-738491-4
- Records
- Open Library Wikidata
