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• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Vintage International)
Jean-Dominique Bauby

Vintage, 2007 - 131 pages

average customer review:based on 180 reviews
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   highly recommended  highly recommended




Not a comfortable read, but contemplative

It is impossible for me to separate out the content of this book from the manner in which it was written - dictated one letter at a time by blinking after a massive stroke. It is a book both triumphant and acutely sad, and although a quick read in real time, the narrative plays on the theme of time itself, forcing you to slow down for the duration of the read and consider the implications of being trapped by your own body and stripped of both movement and a spontaneous voice - a prospect any sane mind, mine included, instinctively shies away from. It is not a comfortable read - it is too sobering for that - but it a contemplative one. (Lisa McKay, Author of My Hands Came Away Red)


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Book Review: Diving Bell & The Butterfly

The Review


After reading Lisa's Best of 2008 List and after speaking to a fellow "Basketball Mom" last week, I was intrigued to read The Diving Bell and The Butterfly. The story is a sort of an auto-biographical one, however only sharing Bauby's remarkably beautiful memories of the life he lost after the massive stroke he suffered in December 1995. At the time, Bauby was 43 years old and the editor of French Elle Magazine. From what I gather in this book, his life was once filled with travel and he was the type of man with an incredible passion for life. Once stripped of his physical abilities and the ability to effectively function and communicate due to "locked-in syndrome," a permanent and full paralysis as a result of the stroke, his mind craves to communicate the very acute and real memories to his bedside assistant.


Bauby is able to communicate via the blinking of his one functioning eye. He describes in the book that he had written and edited the material multiple times in his mind so that the effort to communicate it was clear the first time around. In his memoirs and thoughts, he shares his vivid memories of his travels in his past and times with his family and friends. He further describes what it is like to be trapped in this non-functioning body and compares it to being weighted by a diving bell/suit. He shares what all his sensory functions are like: eyesight, hearing, dreams, smell, and pain.


This book was, to me, more of a book of prose than of typical writing. Each line of the book intricately designed to effectively provide the reader a vision and an understanding.


In describing how it felt to now be described as a vegetable:


"The tone of voice left no doubt that henceforth I belong on a vegetable stall and not to the human race. France was at peace; one couldn't shoot the bearers of bad news. Instead I would have to rely on myself if I wanted to prove that my IQ was still higher than a turnip's."


And, he describes the hospital cafeteria:


"Although my own corner of the hospital has the look of an expensive private school, one would never mistake the cafeteria crowd for member of the Dead Poets Society. The girls have hard eyes, the boys tattoos and some with rings on their fingers. There they sit, chain-smoking and talking about fistfights and motorbikes. Their already stooped shoulders seem to bear a heavy cross. Cruel fate has cured them, and their stay at Berck is just one more stage between an abused childhood and jobless future. When I am wheeled through their smoke-filled lair, the silence becomes deafening; I see neither pity nor compassion in their eyes."


Some of my favorite parts of the book include his visit to the beach, his viewing of his children playing, and his description of what food tastes like although he is only being fed by a tube. This is a remarkable book in the knowing of how it was written and the determination it took Bauby to ensure its completion.


On Sher's "Out of Ten Scale:"


There is no clear book to use as a comparison to this one as it is unique in every way. This is a book that reminds you of the sheer preciousness of life and the value of human health. For the genre Non-Fiction, I would give this book a 9 out of 10.



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Monsieur Jean-Dominique Bauby kindred spirit to my James. RIP

I have only come across this book recently,June 2009. I stumbled onto it by what I feel to be only described as divine intervention as my husband has recently passed from MSA (Multiple System Atrophy), a rare neurological disorder. Similarly to Monsieur Bauby, my late husband, James, lost his mobility, was unable to communicate except with his eyes and needed complete care. We did have a short period where he could talk and swallow with a PMV (Passy-Muir Tracheostomy Valve). However, it was all too short lived as the disease progressed and ultimately, as expected would silence him completely. Similarly, to Monsieur Bauby my husband passed away due to complications breathing. He was bedridden and it was sudden. We tried to live everyday as if it was his last and when the end came there was such a peace for him, myself and the family. The suffering was over and now only the memories of our journey remain. The book (and movie) helped me to feel a stronger sense of acceptance and to realize that no matter what occurs to the flesh, the brain and spirit are the stronger as long as the will to live exists as well. Such was the case with Monsieur Bauby and my husband, James. It was so wonderful for me to discover Monsieur Bauby's Memoir by chance or as I like to believe, by "divine intervention" and to discover that there was another man, a kindred spirit of sorts, who fought a battle similar to my husband. I know one thing for sure now--as long as we have a sense of gratitude, acceptance and love--in any battle, especially the fight to live, we will win and the journey is worth it. Things will come full circle. God Speed or as the Universe so orders it. I pray every day for a cure to all neurological disorders and again am eternally grateful to have read Monsieur Bauby's Memoir as it truly helped restore and reassure my belief, that despite our struggles to live with a progressive neurological disorder, my husband, was always "present" and will live on in those whose lives he touched before and after he was stricken. His journey, like Monsieur Bauby's was significant and I was blessed to have him as my husband. Thank you for allowing me to review this book here and to share my personal experience. It is my hope that perhaps it will reach someone like me, someone in mourning and/or caregivers dealing with people who have neurological disorders and/or any chronic, progressive disorder. Rest in peace my beloved. You are not alone. Rest in Peace. Always yours. M


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worth the read

This is a good book, with a very interesting and engaging story. In addition to that, I think it would be beneficial to read for those who may have a family member or friend who has suffered head trauma, because it helps to give insight into the thoughts and struggles of someone who can't communicate via traditional means. Too often we may view these people as less intelligent or unable to fully understand their surroundings. This book shows how very frustrating it is to convey thoughts when "locked in" but how wonderful it is to know they can still sense and appreciate the world around them.


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Haunting. Beautiful. SCARY

Wow. To say that this book makes an impact is to state the obvious. Jean existed in what I would call a "living hell" -- alert and cognizant though paralyzed and trapped -- "locked in" his mind without the ability to communicate his thoughts, feelings, needs, or condition to anyone. He suffered a stroke at a very young age and was left completely paralyzed with only the capability of sight, thought and the ability to blink his left eye. I felt his frustration, his every breath, his longing to move his finger even a fraction of an inch, his pain at his inability to express himself. Thank heavens for the ESA alphabet and the breakthrough that allowed him to communicate. He dictated this memoir by blinking to Claude as she reached each letter of each word in each sentence in this book.

A testimony to the human spirit. It's not really sad, it's uplifting to think that this incredible man overcame his imprisonment in his mind to tell us all that he was still "there" through it all.

I hope it makes just one person compassionate and caring. I wish that everyone, somehow, learns about this condition and will use this knowledge if faced with or dealing with someone who has it.

To say it's inspirational would be to give some meaning to Jean's suffering. There is no meaning. It was a horrible way to live the last year of your life.

But this story and Jean Do will linger in my mind for a very long time.


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