The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby (nonfiction)

What a sad story. It's sad even before you begin reading because you know the author has "locked in" syndrome. He was the editor of Elle magazine in Paris when he had a massive stroke and was left paralyzed. All he could do was wink his left eye. People would point at letters and he would wink to spell out the words. The book is not a memoir exactly; it's more like the musings of a man who is "locked in." Each chapter is his philosophical and emotional exploration of a different aspect of his new life. The title of the book refers to the conflict between his body (which is like a diving bell weighing him down) and his mind (which is free like a butterfly). The book is only about a 100 pages, but it is a 100 pages of sad. The author died two days after the book was published.