Book Review: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

I just finished reading The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby. It is a memoir. After suffering a rare type of stroke, the author developed locked-in syndrome which means that his body is totally paralyzed yet his mind is intact. He can only blink one eye. I cannot imagine a more perfect hell. Since he cannot speak, Bauby managed to write this novel with the help of a friend who translated eye blinks. Basically the book was written one letter at a time. Amazing. The diving bell is symbolic of his body, trapped and weighted down while the butterfly is symbolic of his mind. He can fly free with his mind and encounter the world.

I highly recommend this book. It has been out for quite awhile now and unfortunately the author died just two days after publication. Mr. Daphnewood told me about the memoir after attending a neurosurgery lecture that talked about locked-in syndrome. Although this condition would be horrific for most, Bauby managed to find some element of life and hope and truly takes his readers there with him. It makes you rethink your position on vegetative states. You might still have the same convictions after reading but definitely, at least for this reader, those convictions are no longer black and white but very gray.

After searching for some links to insert in this post I found that they are making a movie of this memoir. Well I told you all it was a great book.