Jean-Dominique Bauby
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Jean-Dominique Bauby (April 23, 1952 – March 9, 1997) was a well-known French journalist and author and editor of the French fashion magazine ELLE.[1]
On December 8, 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. This rare condition is called Locked-in Syndrome, a condition wherein the mental facilities remain intact but most of the body is paralyzed. These body parts included his mouth, arms, and legs in his case. Bauby lost 60 pounds (27 kg) in the first 20 weeks after his stroke.[2]
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[edit] 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. Bauby had to compose and edit the book entirely in his head, and convey it one letter at a time. To make dictation more efficient, Bauby's interlocutor, Claude Mendibil, read from a special alphabet which consisted of the letters ordered in accordance with their frequency in the French language. The book was published in France on March 7, 1997. Bauby died just two days after the publication of his book. He died of pneumonia.[3][4] He is buried in a family grave at the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France. [5]
[edit] 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 and won Schnabel 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.
[edit] Book
French science fiction author Bernard Werber's novel L'Ultime Secret is known to be inspired by Bauby.
[edit] 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
