The Diving Bell and the Butterfly/ Jean-Dominique Bauby/ 131 pp.

Paralyzed by a stroke, Jean-Dominique Bauby dictated The Diving Bell and the Butterfly through eye-blinks. This is a literary book, translated from French, but it is accessible with short chapters and rich descriptions. It is almost stream of conscious at times, filled with brief vignettes of life and memories. While reading, I could not help but be amazed at the memories, sensations, tastes, smells, places, etcetera that Bauby can recall - a testament to him having embraced his earlier life experiences.

The first paragraph: “Through the frayed curtain at my window, a wan glow announces the break of day. My heels hurt, my head weighs a ton, and something like a giant invisible diving bell holds my whole body prisoner. My room slowly emerges from the gloom. I linger over every item: photos of loved ones, my children’s drawings, posters, the little tin cyclist sent by a friend the day before the Paris-Roubiax bike race, and the IV pole hanging over the bed where I have been confined theses past six months, like a hermit crab dug into his rock” (3).

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