Locked In - Diving Bell

The story of Jean-Dominique Bauby is truly an inspirational one. This man’s legend is clear proof that all of our worldly desires lie at our fingertips; those with only the mightiest grasp can attain anything. Incapacitation only measures our accomplishments as much as we will it to. A man who was paralyzed from head to toe still managed to set his insecurities and limitations aside and publish a novel. After watching the film, I felt a greater sense of appreciation for the things most of us take for granted like being able to touch, to feel, and to move. I simply can't imagine what it's like to be a prisoner trapped in my own body...

Jean-Dominique Bauby, a French Journalist was the editor of Elle magazine before he suffered a massive stroke in 1995. The stroke resulted in a rare condition called Locked-In syndrome. His muscular functions were paralyzed but his mental capacities were unaffected. His only way to communicate with the world was to blink his left eye which he used to dictate word for word his memoir. He died of pneumonia a few days after his book was published in 1997.