The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

This is a book written by a French journalist - Jean-Dominique Bauby - about his own life true story.

It describes what his life is like after suffering a massive stroke at the age of 43 that left him with a condition called Lock-in Syndrome (mentally aware, physically paralyzed with the exception of some movement in his head and left eye).

It also details what his life was before the stroke. The book also records everyday events after the suffering.

The entire book was written by Bauby blinking his left eyelid to record the word he wish to write. The book took about 200,000 blinks to write and an average word took about 2 minutes.

The French edition of the book was published in Mar 1997. It sold 150,000 copies in the first week. The sad story is the author, Bauby died of pneumonia ten days after the book was published.

The film of the same was produced in 2007. You may be able to view the film in DVD.