The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Vintage International)
by Jean-Dominique Bauby
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jean-Dominique BaubyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-11-20
ISBN: 0007790155
Number of pages: 144
Publisher: Vintage
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780307389251
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Book Reviews of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Vintage International)
Book Review: Free Minds: a Lesson on the Power of Attention
Summary: 5 Stars
Many life lessons may be distilled from this book. However, one of the most powerful is the degree of control our minds exert over feelings of fulfillment and life meaning. If we increase our attention to everyday details and our reflection on memories, we can have minds as free as butterflies, even when confined to the diving bell of normal life.
Plot Summary
In his previous life, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor in chief of Elle magazine in France. His was always quick-witted and expressed a zeal for life's luxuries and an appetite for new experiences. When he was 43 years old, this all was abruptly arrested by a massive stroke. After two weeks spent in a coma, he awoke to his new life as a victim of "locked-in syndrome;" an individual in this condition is still fully cognizant, yet unable to accomplish any volitional movement. By an arguably cruel twist of fate, Bauby was still in control of the muscles in his left eyelid. Using this limited capability, he was able to blink his selection of letters to his infinitely patient speech therapist as she repeatedly read him the alphabet. Through this painstakingly slow method of communication, Bauby was not only able to compose correspondence to his friends and family, but also wrote this eloquent and surprisingly cheerful memoir.
Confined, yet Free
Because it is written by a man condemned to a fate many would consider worse than death, the jovial topics addressed in most of the anecdotes which comprise this book come as a surprise. Even his occasional lapses into self-pity are expressed in such a mercurial manner that the reader's pity is offset by admiration of his enduring mirth. His body, whose constant immobile state is conferred by what Bauby lovingly dubs an invisible diving bell, exercises no constraint on his mind. In fact, Bauby's situation, which would conventionally be bemoaned as extremely unfortunate, seems to actually yield a degree of freedom neither experienced nor contemplated by physiologically normal individuals. Like a butterfly, Bauby's mind is free to roam, distracted neither by movement nor responsibility. Atention previously preoccupied by these is redirected towards the minutia of everyday experience and towards memory.
Benefits of Attention
Although most people would never wish locked-in syndrome on their worst enemies, the whole of humanity would benefit from the resulting redirection of attention which Bauby so eloquently recounts. Because of the repetitious nature of everyday events, our appreciation for them is often muted, if not altogether absent. Bauby's nostalgic description of the mundane tasks of his previous life-such as shaving and dressing himself-cast them in such a tragically positive light that the reader is prompted to stop and appreciate similar events in his/her own life. Even in his paralyzed state, Bauby is careful to note the comfort of his weekly bath and the colors cast on the wall of his hospital room at sunset. With this book, Bauby extends an invitation for the reader to join him in his diving bell, even though it promises to take them into unexplored territory; he invites us to abandon our focus on the stresses which seem so important and pressing at any given moment, in favor of the quite pleasures that are all too often overlooked. If we were to allow ourselves to learn from his experience and afford a heightened level of acknowledgement to simple details of our experience, our lives would undoubtedly be richer and more fulfilling than achieved with our current benumbed attention.
Power of Memory
The majority of the anecdotes offered in this book are written as a stream of consciousness-Bauby relates memories as they come back to him. The fact that his memories are, in effect, his only remaining connection to normalcy reflects the importance of memory to all of humanity. We all rely on memories to ground us to our past and form educated judgments of future actions. He relies on them not just for this sense of identity, but for improving his quality of life; even though his only form of nourishment enters his body via an IV, Bauby mentally treats himself to the tastes and scents of memories of gourmet meals. If taking the time to appreciate his past had such a profoundly calming and life-affirming effect on Bauby during the bleakest times of his bedridden life, one can only imagine the positive ramifications such appreciation would produce in our own lives.
Brain Plasticity
Although his brain and spinal cord suffered catastrophic damage during the stroke, Bauby was able, by the time of completion of this memoir, to `grunt the little song about the kangaroo.' He also regains his ability to shake his head and even muster a loud grunt. The recitation of this French children's rhyme and reacquisition of limited movement serve as testimonies to his brain's ability to reorganize itself. As popularized by current theories on the subject, brain plasticity can result in drastic changes, so long as therapy is repeated and afforded absolute attention by the patient. This is yet another display of the importance of attention-if we are to make any meaningful change to our own bodies or lives, we must increase the attention we pay to efforts towards that end.
Words to Potential Readers
The structure of this memoir lends itself to quick reading, but its content demands the attention which can only be given during slow consideration. Do not be deceived by its short length-for what it lacks in page numbers, the book overcompensates with its emotionally charged and witty content. I have read each anecdote several times, every time extracting more subtle, exquisite nuances unnoticed during previous readings. Bauby's wit, along with his unabashed optimism, is at once awe-inspiring and life-affirming. It shows that, even though we are all confined to a certain extent by the diving bell of responsibility and the limitations of our bodies, we can maintain minds as free as butterflies by being selective with our attention to our surroundings and appreciation of our past.
This was an absolutely wonderful book which I would recommend to any reader with an open mind. You shouldn't read it unless you are ready to shed some tears and have your life views radically challenged. It is not sad, but instead poignant- a powerful testament to the durability of the human spirit. Be prepared to want to read it multiple times.
Summary of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Vintage International)
In December 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby, the 43-year-old editor of French Elle, suffered a massive stroke that left him permanently paralyzed, a victim of "locked in syndrome." Once known for his gregariousness and wit, Bauby now finds himself imprisoned in an inert body, able to communicate only by blinking his left eye. The miracle is that in doing so he was able to compose this stunningly eloquent memoir.In a voice that is by turns wistful and mischievous, angry and sardonic, Bauby gives us a celebration of the liberating power of consciousness: what it is like to spend a day with his children, to imagine lying in bed beside his wife, to conjure up the flavor of delectable meals even as he is fed through at tube. Most of all, this triumphant book lets us witness an indomitable spirit and share in the pure joy of its own survival.
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."
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