The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death - Hardcover

Jean-Dominique Bauby

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375401156 ISBN 13: 9780375401152

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review

We've all got our idiosyncrasies when it comes to writing--a special chair we have to sit in, a certain kind of yellow paper we absolutely must use. To create this tremendously affecting memoir, Jean-Dominique Bauby used the only tool available to him--his left eye--with which he blinked out its short chapters, letter by letter. Two years ago, Bauby, then the 43-year-old editor-in-chief of Elle France, suffered a rare stroke to the brain stem; only his left eye and brain escaped damage. Rather than accept his "locked in" situation as a kind of death, Bauby ignited a fire of the imagination under himself and lived his last days--he died two days after the French publication of this slim volume--spiritually unfettered. In these pages Bauby journeys to exotic places he has and has not been, serving himself delectable gourmet meals along the way (surprise: everything's ripe and nothing burns). In the simplest of terms he describes how it feels to see reflected in a window "the head of a man who seemed to have emerged from a vat of formaldehyde."

From the Publisher

"Was it Hemingway who defined grace under pressure? No matter who said it, the words have never been more pertinent than in speaking of this heroic book, dictated against the worst imaginable adversities. Although every word cost the author a superhuman effort, the prose is not sickbed telegraphese but rather as light as the sprightliest humor, as pungent as the taste of cooking apricots, as vigorous as the step of a young man setting out on a first date. Read this book and fall back in love with life."
-- Edmund White

"To read this most extraordinary of narratives is to discover the luminosity within a courageous man's mind. Locked into his own world but not locked out of ours, []Jean-Dominique Bauby[] explores images, memories and an entire landscape of fantasy and love. His incomparable final gift to us is a heartbreaking and yet glorious testament to the wrenching beauty of the human spirit."
-- Sherwin B. Nuland, M.D.

"As riveting as a narrative from an explorer of deep space, this communication from a mind imprisoned in an unresponsive body is remarkable for its utter lack of self-pity or sentimentality. Though 'locked in' the author's consciousness freely roams through worlds of memory, fantasy, sense, impression, and contemplation of the human condition. An unforgettable read."
-- Andrew Weil

"This heartbreaking story by a uniquely gifted writer is about transforming pain into creativity, human despair into literary miracle."
-- Elie Wiesel

About this edition

• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0375401156
• ISBN 13: 9780375401152
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 131