About
Jean-Dominique Bauby was a French journalist, born in Paris in 1952. He became editor-in-chief of Elle magazine in 1991. In December 1995, he suffered a massive stroke that left him with locked-in syndrome: fully conscious but paralyzed, he could only communicate by blinking his left eyelid. He dictated his book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, letter by letter, with the help of a speech therapist. Published in 1997, the book was a huge success. Bauby died two days after its publication, from pneumonia.
* 1952-04-23 — † 1997-03-09
Major works
- Le Scaphandre et le papillon (1997)memoir
Key milestones
- 1991Becomes editor-in-chief of Elle magazine.
- 1995Suffers a massive stroke, resulting in locked-in syndrome.
- 1997Publication of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, two days before his death.
Themes
ResilienceCommunicationDisabilityMemoryImagination
Sources: id.loc.gov · catdir.loc.gov