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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death | 
 enlarge | Author: Jean-dominique Bauby
Publisher: Knopf
Category: Book
List Price: $20.00
Buy Used: $13.49
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Avg. Customer Rating:  147 reviews
Sales Rank: 259381
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 131
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 0375401156
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.19681
EAN: 9780375401152
ASIN: 0375401156
Publication Date: May 13, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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."
Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 142 more reviews...
 Stunningly beautiful July 1, 2008
Absolutely amazing. And a quick read, too, so you really have no excuse to miss it. SHUT UP. NO EXCUSE. Jeez, you can even borrow it from me, okay?
Excellent! June 27, 2008
This is a wonderful book. Very quick read. Makes you truly appreciate your own life. Highly recommended.
 An inspiring life testament June 21, 2008
Bauby gives us a truly remarkable and inspirational story of his life trapped inside a body that no longer serves him.
But his mind remains as sharp as ever.
He transcends his immobility with grace and a remarkable gift of a rich, lucid imagination.
He is free in his mind to enjoy all of life and it's lush sensory gifts and memories...to take flight as if a butterfly.
A heartbreaking true story.
What a great read! June 19, 2008
This book was an eye-opening and amazing view into the internal life of a man under tragic circumstances. It is a very human look - sometimes funny and sarcastic and at times tragically sad - into Bauby's mind and spirit which never gives in.
Amazing June 18, 2008
I work with brain injured people daily and they never cease to amaze me. The book and the movie are testimony to the strength of the human spirit.
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