Jean-Dominique Bauby
Jean-Dominique Bauby (23 April 1952 – 9 March 1997) was a well-known French journalist and author and editor of the French fashion magazine ELLE.[1]
On 8 December 1995 at the age of 43, Bauby suffered a massive stroke. When he woke up twenty days later, he found he was entirely speechless; he could only blink his left eyelid. Called locked-in syndrome, this is a condition wherein the mental faculties remain intact but most of the body is paralyzed. In Bauby's case his mouth, arms, and legs were paralyzed, and he lost 60 pounds (27 kg) in the first 20 weeks after his stroke.[2]
Memoir
Despite his condition, he wrote the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by blinking when the correct letter was reached by a person slowly reciting the alphabet over and over again using a system called partner assisted scanning. Bauby composed and edited the book entirely in his head, and dictated it one letter at a time. To make dictation more efficient, Bauby's interlocutor, Claude Mendibil, listed the letters in accordance with their frequency in the French language. The book was published in France on 7 March 1997. Bauby died of pneumonia just ten days after the publication of his book,[3][4] and is buried in a family grave at the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France.[5]
Film
In 2007, painter-director Julian Schnabel released a film version of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. It starred actor Mathieu Amalric as Bauby. Critically acclaimed, the film received lots of awards and nominations, Schnabel won the Best Director prize at Cannes, a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Director.
The script written for the film has been criticized by Bauby's lover as not faithful to events and biased in favour of his ex-partner.[6]
Book
French science fiction author Bernard Werber's novel L'Ultime Secret is known to be inspired by Bauby.
References
- ^ Denis Boyles on EuroPress on National Review Online
- ^ `Locked-in' quadriplegic shares life
- ^ Thomas, Rebecca. Diving Bell movie's fly-away success, BBC, February 8, 2008. Accessed June 5, 2008.
- ^ "In the Blink of an Eye", by Thomas Mallon, review of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, New York Times, June 15, 1997. Retrieved April 8, 2008.
- ^ Q and A - New York Times
- ^ Arnold, Beth, Salon.com, "The truth about The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," February 23, 2008