In December Of 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby, 43 Year Old Editor In Chief Of Elle Magazine In France, Suffered A Stroke Which Severely Damaged His Brain Stem. After Several Weeks In A Coma, He Woke To Find That He Was One Of The Rare Victims Of A Condition Called "LOCKED-IN Syndrome" Or Lis, Which Had Left His Mind Functioning But His Body Almost Completely Paralyzed. In A Perverse Sense He Actually Got Fairly Lucky Because, Unlike Most Victims, He Was Still Able To Move One Eyelid. This Allowed Him To Work Out, With A Speech Therapist, A System Of Communication Which Entailed Winking As Someone Slowly Read Through The Alphabet. By Using This Code, He Could Painstakingly Spell Out Words, Sentences, Paragraphs And, Finally, This Memoir.