In 1995 Bauby, the 45-year-old editor of French Elle, suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed in all but his left eyelid. This book is a lasting testament to his life. Jean-Dominique Bauby died two days after the French publication of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Again and again he returns to an "inexhaustible reservoir of sensations," keeping in touch with himself and the life around him. Fed only intravenously, he imagines preparing and tasting the full flavor of delectable dishes. In magical sequences, he imagines traveling to other places and times and of lying next to the woman he loves. He explains the joy, and deep sadness, of seeing his children and of hearing his aged father's voice on the phone. In the same way, he was able eventually to compose this extraordinary book.īy 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. 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. By the end of the year he was also the victim of a rare kind of stroke to the brainstem.Īfter 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.
In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor-in-chief of French Elle, the father of two young children, a 44-year-old man known and loved for his wit, his style, and his impassioned approach to life. A triumphant memoir by the former editor-in-chief of French Elle that reveals an indomitable spirit and celebrates the liberating power of consciousness.
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