The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly

By Jean-Dominique Bauby

This was Rob's choice of book for our book club this year. I was delighted it was a short book until I got into it and discovered it was short for a very good reason: the author dictated using the blink of the single eyelid which he had control over following his massive stroke. I can't imagine what it would be like to suffer such a catastrophic event. But through this very beautifully written book it is possible to have a small insight into that world of locked-in syndrome.

Synopsis

After suffering a massive stroke, Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of French Elle and the father of two young children, found himself completely paralysed and speechless. Anblt only to move one eyelid, he 'dictated' the remarkable book.
The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly records Bauby's lonely existence but also the ability to invent a life for oneself in the most appalling of circumstances. It is a remarkable book about the triumph of the human spirit.

Author 

Jean-Dominique Bauby was a French actor, author and editor of the French fashion magazine ELLE. He had two children with Sylvie de la Rochefoucauld, a son named Théophile and a daughter named Céleste.