Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
fast-paced
I feel terrible rating this so low. The feat of this book being written and published is an absolutely incredible achievement and I would never deny that. It was dictated by Jean-Dominique Bauby through the blinking of an eye and the thought and care of the writing was so abundantly evident.
That said, I just really didn’t love Bauby. I was highly impressed by him and I was intrigued by his story, but the memoir just felt so pretentious and sort of stuffy. I never questioned the validity of the book and his life and his incredible ability to dictate so many words, I just didn’t ever get to the point where I was loving the story he tells.
That said, I just really didn’t love Bauby. I was highly impressed by him and I was intrigued by his story, but the memoir just felt so pretentious and sort of stuffy. I never questioned the validity of the book and his life and his incredible ability to dictate so many words, I just didn’t ever get to the point where I was loving the story he tells.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
inspiring
reflective
I am absolutely inspired by Jean-Dominique Bauby. Bauby's feat is one that would have turned Milton's head, because Milton had at least the aid of his voice. He could walk around and use his hands. He could even eat normally. Bauby only had the function of one eye.
Bauby was a man who lived his life to it's brim, even during his time (and his last days) with locked-in syndrome. He wrote this book with the help of a speech therapist who brought him a special alphabet to which he blinked out with one eye conversations and the text of this book.
The book is evidence that despite his state, Bauby was still full of life. His mind could experience limitlessly, and he was willing to share that experience.
The book is very short, but it is a rich memoir that will take you through the run of emotions, just the same. It is also a testament to human will, its ability to accomplish through adversity, and it is a reminder that life is worth living, and it is worth living fully and well.
Bauby was a man who lived his life to it's brim, even during his time (and his last days) with locked-in syndrome. He wrote this book with the help of a speech therapist who brought him a special alphabet to which he blinked out with one eye conversations and the text of this book.
The book is evidence that despite his state, Bauby was still full of life. His mind could experience limitlessly, and he was willing to share that experience.
The book is very short, but it is a rich memoir that will take you through the run of emotions, just the same. It is also a testament to human will, its ability to accomplish through adversity, and it is a reminder that life is worth living, and it is worth living fully and well.
Just the fact that this book was written is in itself an amazing achievement. I cannot imagine the amount of dedication and patience it would have taken to write this book by blinking your eye alphabet by alphabet. It is indeed a feat of human strength that this was written at all!
There are many beautiful passages and your empathy for someone who is suffering from this kind of syndrome increases with each page. There are so many things that we take absolutely for granted that take on other dimensions when you face a condition such as this. We fail to even imagine these and it was an eye-opener to read a book by a person suffering from this locked-in condition. It is more of a series of recollections that almost form a memoir of his life post the stroke which put him in this condition. There is nothing hugely enlightening about it except perhaps that these experiences still leave you completely human in every way and you still have all the trappings and the conundrums of existence, albeit taken to another level.
Don't go looking for great wisdom and the meaning of life in this book. Instead maybe empathize with the people around you and remember to enjoy your moments - this was the essential take-away from this book. A lovely short read, that is worth your time.
There are many beautiful passages and your empathy for someone who is suffering from this kind of syndrome increases with each page. There are so many things that we take absolutely for granted that take on other dimensions when you face a condition such as this. We fail to even imagine these and it was an eye-opener to read a book by a person suffering from this locked-in condition. It is more of a series of recollections that almost form a memoir of his life post the stroke which put him in this condition. There is nothing hugely enlightening about it except perhaps that these experiences still leave you completely human in every way and you still have all the trappings and the conundrums of existence, albeit taken to another level.
Don't go looking for great wisdom and the meaning of life in this book. Instead maybe empathize with the people around you and remember to enjoy your moments - this was the essential take-away from this book. A lovely short read, that is worth your time.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
very good, it’s impressive how he still has such a distinct literary voice despite the way this book was written
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced