Book review: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Jean-Dominique Bauby

Reading is a strong passion of mine. I can bury my head into any book and immerse myself in tales of faraway places, steadfast heroines, and victorious heroes. Each one holds a special place in my heart, and from time to time I look back on them as if they were old friends. However, this book had me contemplating less about fantasies, and more about our own, real internal struggles and how we overcome them. A story of unwavering courage, fuelled with regrets and frustrations of his body trapping him inside his mind.

When Jean-Dominique, a French journalist, suffered from a massive stroke, it left him locked inside a body that couldn’t move, even though his mind was as strong as ever. A man that was so active in his profession, chasing lead after lead, finding the story, had succumbed to such an awful tragedy.

He wrote this book, with the help of his assistant, letter by letter as his only movable body part was his left eye. He would scan across the alphabet and blink at the correct letter, eventually creating this incredible masterpiece and harrowing true story about his life. As the words jumped off the page, I could feel his frustration and internal anguish, knowing that the only person who really understood that torment was him.

An unrelenting tempestuous battle day after day, with no relief in sight. But even through those moments of feeling like he wanted to give up, he persisted and told his story to the world, out of sheer determination and his passion for journalism.

I came away feeling an enormous sense of gratitude – Jean-Dominique's story reminds us to never take anything for granted, that even in the worst circumstances, you can create something beautiful.