Jean-Do, recently divorced father of 3 despite having good health, suffers a massive stroke, that leaves his mental capacity untouched, but his whole body paralyzed. The only movement that he is capable of is blinking his left eyelid. His only system of communication is through the form of someone going through the letters of the alphabet, with Jean-Do blinking on the letter he wants; letter by letter, a word is formed, and word by word, he forms a sentence. Before his stroke, Jean-Do had signed a contract with a publisher to write a book, and although the publishing company doesn't believe he is capable of writing a book, Bauby says he is still on for his contract. Each night, Jean-Do spends hours trying to craft a perfectly formed paragraph in his mind, and then for 4 hours in the day, he dictates this paragraph to an aide in the slow letter-by-letter form of communication.
It is tragic to hear Jean-Do describe his oppression: once an outgoing and humorous personality, he can't possibly keep up and make jokes with his slow communication; he feels that he can't be a father to his children, who he wants to hug and play with; he can't communicate the aches and pains and itches he feels. But in this state, Jean-Do says he is able to cultivate his imagination, and his mind and mental capacity is a way to escape from this physical prison. Reading this book is a reminder to be grateful for the abilities you have, and just because you have a disability, that does not mean it has to define or limit you.
There is a movie of the same name, which will probably be my favorite movie of all time. At times, it is claustrophobic, as you see the world from his point of view. But this is a wonderful, poetic movie that originally drew me to the book. Here is the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G69Zh7YIg8c
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