I got this the other day from a charity shop as I thought it looked interesting. I understand there are plans afoot to make a film of this book, and a lot of people have shown an interest in reading it, so when I have read it I will start a ray.
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From Amazon
On December 8, 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby's life was forever altered when a part of his body he'd never heard of--his brain stem--was rendered inactive. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, his exquisitely painful memoir, is neither a triumphant account of recovery nor a journey into the abyss of self-pity. Instead, it is a tender testament to the power of language and love. At 43, Bauby was defined by success, wit and charisma. But in the course of a few bewildering minutes, the editor-in-chief of French Elle became a victim of the rare locked-in syndrome. The only way he could express his frustration, however, was by blinking his left eye. The rest of his body could no longer respond. Bauby was determined to escape the paralysis of his diving bell and free the butterflies of his imagination. And with the help of ESA, "a hit parade in which each letter is placed according to the frequency of its use in the French language," Bauby did so. Visitors, and eventually his editor, would read each letter aloud and he would blink at the right one. Slowly--painstakingly-- words, sentences, paragraphs and even this graceful book emerged.
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Ray Participants so far:

Tazzell ( Uk)
Wilksie ( Uk/Int)
LindyB28 ( UK )
Nell-Lu ( Uk)
turquoisefloyd ( UK/Int)
Rebecca84 ( Ger/Eur)
Hawkette ( UK/Aus)
GypsyRose02 (Aus/Int)
titihood (Can)
pashmack (US)
Tennah ( US)
SandDanz (US)
mysteryfan03 (US/Int)
AnOtterChaos ( US/int)
Lizzy-Stardust (UK)
Ceroc-Monster ( UK)
wubbaducky(uk)



SEnt to Tazzell on 15/08/05

Received today thanks P ;) I'll be starting it this evening.

Fascinating little book. Knowing that he wrote every word with only the blink code makes it all the more enthralling. To be trapped inside a shell of a body is a fate you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy :( A brave man but again an example of how humans cope with extreme situation. Many would say oh I could never do that, but then when it happens to you, you really have no choice!
I would have liked to know more about him prior to his stroke but perhaps that is the whole point of the exercise, the fact that we only learn about him from his meanderings in his memories ensures we understand the isolation.
Got Wilksie's addy so will get it in the post tomorrow ;)

This was waiting for me when I arrived home after a few days away. I've started reading it already - fascinating, thank you.

A wonderful book. Bauby describes his life before and after his stroke with a quiet courage. No screaming about the injustice of it all, just continuing his life as best he can. The human spirit at its best. I was devastated to read that he died 3 days after his book was published.

Posted on to LindyB28.

Arrived yesterday from Wilksie. Have already started reading it and will post it to Nell-Lu when I 've finished.

This book leads the reader to a new perspective on the world, since we are given the gift of communication with a man to whom communication in its usual forms has been denied. The book can uplift but can also make one aware of the essential fragility of life.

This just arrived - thanks very much LindyB28 for sending it on, and sunlightbub for setting up the bookray.

This is the third ring/ray book to arrive in the past two days (why do thay always turn up in threes?!) so I'm afraid it's third on my TBR list. I will probably get on to it late next week. I'm looking forward to it...

What an incredibly brave book. I enjoyed the associative style in which Bauby considered his life now, and looked back at life before the stroke. I thought it captured the tragedy, but also the joy, of existence.

Thanks, everyone, for getting it here. I'll package this up to go to turquoisefloyd now, and take it to the Post Office tomorrow.

Just back from Belgium and found this waiting for me! Looking fwd to reading it, although it might take a while to get to it. Thanks to Sunlightbub for starting the ring and to Nell-Lu for passing it onto me!

Finished this two days ago but in the whirl of NaNoWriMo, I forgot to journal it!!

There's no sense of desperation in Jean-Dominique Bauby, when you read this memoir. He's not trying to escape his helpless body - he's still experiencing the world around him, perhaps in more ways than an able bodied person might. He notices the smallest details and takes us back into his past with tremendous recall. The fact that this memoir was painstakingly written with the blink of an eye to determine each word makes it all the more remarkable.

I read an excerpt from this some years ago and I seem to remember a postscript stating that Monsieur Bauby died three days after publication.

Thanks again to sunlightbub for sharing this memoir with us.

Now PMing Rebecca84 so I can send it on.

Thanks guys, this arrived safely last Thursday. I'll probably finish reading next week and I am very much looking forward to this book.

I'm an idiot. I must apologize, I wasn't aware that I have had this book for so long yet. I'll send it away as soon as possible. Sorry for that delay.

This a truly wonderful book, at the one hand very easy to read and on the other something that gets you thinking about how fragile we all are. Excellent reading, thanks for giving me the oppotunity.

Has arrived with me.
Just when you think you can get on top of the bookray TBR....

What an amazing little book! And all written from the blink of an eye! The amazing resiliance of the human spirit, no matter what life throws at it! Jean-Dominique tells an incredible story, with such honesty and realness.

From my professional background, I wish he had have told us how they figure out he was functioning inside his non-functioning body - but I guess that's a whole other story.

Will be sending on to Australia, soon...

arrived today. thankyou! cant wait to read it.

i cant get into this one sorry. will send out soon.

on its way to titihood. sorry for the delay.

Received in the post today - thanks! Things are a bit hectic at the moment as am renovating new house and trying to pack boxes...moving in 2 weeks and the new floor is nowhere near completion! :{ I will get to this book as soon as possible, although there is one other BC book I need to read beforehand.
Thanks for sharing! :)

05/06/06: I enjoyed this memoir, partly because it gives a whole new insight into the feelings of someone with 'locked-in syndrome'; something I had only heard of before in films. Bauby's humanity and great positivity are evident, as is his lust for life and the poignancy of memory.
An enjoyable read, ready to send to the next BCer :)
22/06/06: Sorry it has taken me so long to get this in the post - I lost pashmack's addy then was in a whirlwind of unpacking and generally finishing house renovations. Finally posted it today via air-mail - should be with you soon!

Arrived safe and sound in today's mail- thank you :-) I'll get started on it as soon as I finish my current read (also a bookring book, otherwise I'd set it aside for this one!) I'm looking forward to reading this.

A little gem of a book that reminds us that life is filled with so many wonderful things that are often taken for granted. While reading, the lyrics from an old Moody Blues song kept coming to mind: "Thinking is the best way to travel".

Thanks for sharing this book, sunlightbub. I'll be sending it to tenneh in tomorrow's mail.
(Actual mail date ended up being 7/10)

Received today, will start as soon as I finish the book I'm on now.

What a great little book! Really makes you think about life.

SandDanz has asked to be skipped so am PMing next person.

Got this in the mail today! Thanks

I am very, very sorry to have kept this book so long!!! a friend at work saw it on my desk and took it home for the weekend. she then went in the hospital for a while and I have been trying to get it back!! It is on its way to AnotterChaos now!
This was a wonderfully inspiring book. This man lived such a life from his memories!! Wow!

Thanks, MysteryFan! Oh, I got 2 bookring books today...what to do...read one in the morning and the other in the evening? Oh well, soon started, soon finished!

It turned out not to be a hard decision after all. One page in, I'm hooked, read it in one sitting. A simply stunning book. Since someone else already mentioned this, it's not a spoiler...I looked on Amazon for more information about him, and it was like a gut-punch to read that he died just days after the publication of this book. What a loss. I liked that it was not simply a recitation of his medical status and progress, but a journey of the spirit.

Ready to move on.

On it's way to Lizzy-Stardust!

received this book in the post today. i am still only about a third of the way through East of Eden, but this one will be next. Thanks to anotterchaos for mailing this to me, and thanks to sunlightbub for starting the bookray and including me in it!

i read this book over the past two days, and though a quick and easy read, i didn't enjoy it as much as i had hoped, especially since the plot is so close to that of my favourite book, Johnny Got His Gun (guy with locked-in syndrome communicates with the outside world by using small movements that those around him are required to decode), except much less depressing at the end. certainly the book is a great example of the triumph of the human spirit, and it was an inspiring book, but i think the prose was just a bit flowery for my taste.

anyway, now PMing ceroc-monster.

Received in the post today from Lizzy-stardust. I've almost finished reading my current book, so I'll start this one at the weekend.

It has to be the most anticipated book so far this year, for me personally anyway.

Okay, so I couldn't wait for the weekend and started this book the day after I received it.

As the others have said in their journals, I find it fascinating that he managed to dictate this whole book with just the blink of an eye. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to communicate like that. And as for the people visiting him, the temptation to finish off words for him must have been immense, but something you shouldn't do.

This book was well worth the wait...thank you sunlightbub for organising this ring.

Have PM'd wubberducky for their address, will post in the next few days.

Arrived safe and sound today - many thanks!

I loved this book! It's impossible to read it without constantly thinking of the circumstances in which it was written and it really reminds you of how fortunate you are. I've been a bit down lately but this book has definitely made me focus on all the good things in my life! I loved the message of hope at the end and the insight afforded throughout into locked-in syndrome. Thanks for sharing this book with us - it's been just wonderful!

RELEASE NOTES:

Released as part of the BCUK Extra themed release challenge - this month's theme is the animal kingdom