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 Not as good as I hoped. Have better suggestion Oct 09, 2009
I was disappointed in this book. A much better book on the same subject is "Look Up For Yes" by Julia Tavalaro. Her story started in 1966 when awareness of locked-in syndrome was much less known, and technology to help was not available but had to be invented and improvised for her. She wasn't even recognized as being anything other than brain dead for 6 years, but she was very aware of everything and tells us of the treatment she received and the remarkable story of her progress once this was discovered. She was 31 when she went into a coma for 7 months as a result of two strokes. She lived until she was 68.
 Free Minds: a Lesson on the Power of Attention Sep 27, 2009
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.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Sep 15, 2009
What a remarkable book. It's small, not lengthy at all, and I read it in one sitting. Then I read it again, and again! It it a totally amazing accomplishment by this doomed writer, this extraordinary, talented, charming, life-loving man, to have written this inspiring, touching book by blinking one eye at each correct letter shown him, and having it become this stunning account of a terrible tragedy. What a testament to his will and determination, to his intelligence and creativity. Anyone who reads this gorgeous book can NEVER indulge in self-pity ever again. I keep it on my bedside, and read randomly from it, from time to time, to remind myself how fortunate I really am.
Honest and funny account of a horrible situation. Sep 08, 2009
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a testament to the power of the human imagination, which, after a stroke that leaves him completely paralyzed, is all the author has left. Bauby records his thoughts and dreams in little vignettes, each one a clever little slice of his daily life. Despite the depressing nature of his locked-in syndrome, Bauby is surprisingly funny (I laughed aloud several times), and his prose is light and jaunty. The book skips along at a brisk pace and can be read in one or two sittings. One comes away from the book admiring a man with such courage and mourning the fact that he is no longer with us.
Not a comfortable read, but contemplative Jul 04, 2009
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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