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Book Cover for: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death, Jean-Dominique Bauby

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

Jean-Dominique Bauby

Paperback
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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.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Vintage
  • Publish Date: Jun 23rd, 1998
  • Pages: 144
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.90in - 5.10in - 0.50in - 0.30lb
  • EAN: 9780375701214
  • Categories: • Memoirs• Editors, Journalists, Publishers• Death, Grief, Bereavement

About the Author

JEAN-DOMINIQUE BAUBY was born in France in 1952. He attended school in Paris. After working as a journalist for a number of years, Bauby became the editor-in-chief of Elle magazine in Paris in 1991. On December 8, 1995 he had a stroke which left him with the condition known as locked-in syndrome. Bauby died on March 9, 1997, two days after the French publication of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. He was the father of two children, Theophile and Celeste.

What people are saying

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Kanopy
@Kanopy
2 years

Incredible and essential films made accessible through your library. #filmsthatmatter

New to Kanopy! THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (2007) Jean-Dominique Bauby is a man whose love of life and vision shaped his will to write an inspiring memoir, despite a condition that renders him paralyzed. https://t.co/JXyacMCqC5 @ParamountPics #filmsthatmatter Available: 🇺🇸 https://t.co/3vVkWQshPO

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Mentioner image for: Brianne Sperber
Brianne Sperber
@briannedeborah
5 years

my kingdom for a chorizo taco with lime. book pusher at @penguinrandomhouse. opinions are mine and do not reflect those of my employer.

I'm #reading The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby https://t.co/nbEDG9GvHf

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Mentioner image for: Ploughshares
Ploughshares
@pshares
3 years

Since 1971, award-winning journal @EmersonCollege discovering fresh voices in contemporary literature. Published four times a year; new writing daily on blog.

Jean-Dominique Bauby's central means of storytelling for THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY: A MEMOIR OF LIFE IN DEATH was, in fact, a way to seek reason and logic within his own story; the act, the form, and the narrative mirror one another. https://t.co/ISsSyB8Sxo

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Praise for this book

"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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