Translated from the French, The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly is a beautiful and poignant account of a 45 year old father of two falling victim to a catastrophic stroke. The resulting “locked-in syndrome” means he is unable to speak or move—his only means of interaction is through blinking his left eye.

The book focuses on his room in a naval hospital on the north coast of France. He discusses scabrous orderlies, “arrogant, brusque, sarcastic” doctors, and a fear of losing the use of the “only window to his cell,” his …