The Bookshop Guru
Book review of "The Diving Bell
and the Butterfly" by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Have you ever heard the incredible story
about The Diving Bell and the Butterfly? It’s a true story written by
Jean-Dominique Bauby; it captured my imagination and made me think long and
hard about what I was doing with my life. I first heard about the story really
by chance, I was flicking through the TV channels one night and I came across
this documentary film which recalls the life of Jean-Dominique Bauby, who was
once the editor of the fashionable French magazine Elle.
At first, I didn’t know if I
would like to watch a film about someone who was so severely disabled.
Honestly, we all have the urge sometimes not to look at things we don’t want to
think about, we would rather think about something else instead. We all do it,
look the other way, afraid maybe that somehow this might happen to us. Well, I
persevered and enjoyed the love of life the film gave me, even though
Jean-Dominique Bauby was the soul that life had dealt such a cruel twist.
The film was a portrait memoir of the book The
Diving Bell and the Butterfly that was written solely by Jean-Dominique Bauby
blinking his left eye lid. Suffering at the age of 43 a massive stroke Bauby
was left paralysed and speechless apart from the ability to use his left eye
for communication.
By using ESA, a technique that uses
the frequency of letters of the French language Bauby was able to dictate
words, sentences and eventually the book with the aid of his editor. Every word
counts in this book, you know that Bauby’s effort was enormous, never lingering
always with purpose.
That’s why I say ‘Live the dream,’ don’t
tell me you don’t have the time, we all have the same twenty four hours.
Although Bauby’s book is a memoir of his life, it reminds me how little time we
have and how precious our lives are. Each one counts, and to live our dreams,
and hold life itself dear to our hearts. Jean-Dominique Bauby died of a heart
attack on March 9th 1997 two days after the book was published in France.
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| Original Art by Anthony Fox |
I can only say go out and read this book and learn how a man
coped within a shell, living the suffocation of a diving bell existence and at
the same time releasing the butterflies of his imagination to the world.
So I say ’live the dream,’ and go
out and do whatever it is you want from life. Let your mind be free to dream
and in those dreams that may come, do not say, I have no time, for we all have
the same time the same twenty four hours. So remember there’s an old saying,
“It’s a fool that never reads a book.” As I turn another corner in my life.
Are you listening, what are you dreaming?
As Jesus said, “belief is everything.”
In my latest book “It’s Never Too Late” read how dreams do come true, but be careful what you wish for. Understand the secret of greed and you will attain one of the secrets of prosperity. The book will also take you on a journey and explores love, money, luck, and much more.
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Hey, Chuck. Did you bring any spending money? Viva la vida loca.
Conducting Survey into Precognitive Choices
Which would you prefer half-price digital or paperback?
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