Mere Mortals Book Reviews

Mere Mortals Book Reviews


Torture Or Freedom? | The Diving-Bell And The Butterfly (Jean-Dominique Bauby)

September 21, 2023

What's it like to lose your own body?

'The Diving-Bell And The Butterfly' by Jean-Dominique Bauby is a short memoir describing life with locked-in syndrome. It's a mix of personal recollections before his life altering stroke and daily hospital trivialities afterwards. He focuses on the hardships of being trapped within a mute body but the joy of unlocking his mind.

I summarised the book as follows. "A complex series of emotions arise whilst reading. Heartbreak, mirth, horror & fascination all alter quite rapidly due to the small chapters. It is written in that journalistic editorial style so never gets too deep on anything, also understandable because of the way he had to 'write' the book. Ultimately it's a tragedy and a reminder to enjoy what you have."

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(0:29) - Synopsis
(3:44) - The Body: Trapped within yourself
(9:09) - The Mind: Unlimited possibilities
(13:49) - Observations/Takeaways
(17:39) - Summary

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