Jean-Dominique Bauby The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly

The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby is possibly the most beautiful and remarkable book I have read in a very long time. Felled by a stroke at the age of 44, Bauby, the editor-in-chief of the French Elle magazine was left suffering from what is known as "locked-in" syndrome - completely mentally untouched but unable to move or communicate save by blinking his left eye.

This memoir was "dictated" by a person reading the letters of the alphabet slowly and Bauby blinking at the right one, creating this amazing account letter by letter over a period of about 2 months nearly a year following his stroke.

This is a triumphant piece of French existentialism, describine Bauby's world in minute detail and explaining how he has come to terms with his isolation and grown to cherish the small things around him such as the smell of frying potatoes and the drawings of his children. He describes how he learned to create a rich life inside his head, pouring over old memories, creating new ones from the various niches and corners of the hospital to which he was confined and via his awkward and painstaking method of communication, establishing connections with friends who began to send him letters and postcards describing the outside world, offering him a strand of connection to a past life.

Bauby accepts his situation fully, even if he finds it hopelessly frustrating and his acceptance enables him to explore the good and bad about his life, take control of what he can and let go of the things that are beyond him.

It's a beautiful and moving piece of work which manages to be uplifting and it will leave you finding pleasure in the minutiae of your daily routine.