A Second Wind, Philippe Pozzo di Borgo
A Second Wind, Philippe Pozzo di Borgo
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A Second Wind
The True Story that Inspired the Motion Picture The Intouchables

Author: Philippe Pozzo di Borgo

Narrator: Edoardo Ballerini

Unabridged: 5 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/22/2012


Synopsis

Now a major motion picture—The Upside—starring Bryan Cranston, Kevin Hart, and Nicole Kidman.

Discover the moving and heartfelt #1 international bestseller and inspiration for the film The Upside about an aristocratic Frenchman who is paralyzed in an accident and has to adjust to his new normal with the help of his unlikely caregiver.

As the descendant of two prominent French families and director of a legendary vineyard, Philippe Pozzo di Borgo was not in the habit of asking for help. Then, in 1993, right on the heels of his beloved wife’s diagnosis of a terminal illness, a paragliding accident left him a quadriplegic. He was forty-two years old and unable to do anything—even feed himself—without the help of another person.

Passing his days hidden behind the high walls of his Paris townhouse, Philippe was totally isolated. His paralysis rendered him unable to reach out to others and seemed to make people unwilling to touch him or acknowledge the reality of his existence. For the first time, he learned what it felt like to be excluded.

The only person who seemed not to be bothered by Philippe’s condition was someone who had been marginalized his entire life: Abdel, an unemployed, uninhibited Algerian immigrant from the outskirts of society who would become Philippe's unlikely caretaker. With his tenacious spirit and irreverent sense of humor, Abdel is able to reawaken Philippe’s connection to people and the larger world around him.

A Second Wind is the inspiring true story of two men who refused to ask for help, and then wound up helping each other in more ways than they could imagine.

About Philippe Pozzo di Borgo

Philippe Pozzo di Borgo spent his childhood in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Trinidad, Morocco, Algeria and Corsica. He now lives in Essaouira, Morocco. A descendent of both the Ducs Pozzo di Borgo and the Marquises de Vogue, he is the former director of Pommery Champagnes (LVMH). His bestselling memoir Le Second Souffle (Second Wind) served as the basis for the hit French film, Intouchables (Untouchables).


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tammy

I had such high hopes for this book, having picked it up in the airport before leaving for a holiday. I'd heard great things about the film and thought the book would be even better. Boy was I wrong! While I did learn a lot about what it is like to be paralyzed it was not at all what I expected. The......more

4,5 Una novela realmente preciosa, escrita con una prosa poético muy bonita, este libro es bastante especial por la dosis de realidad y dramatismo que conlleva. Eso sí, no se parece en prácticamente nada a la película, la cual me gusto mucho, pero el libro ha sido mucho mejor.......more

Goodreads review by Toralf

Leider deutlich schwächer als die Verfilmung.......more

كنتُ قد سمعتُ عن الكتاب وبالأخص الفلم قبل سنوات عدة، خلال دراستي في الجامعة.. ولم احظى برؤية الفلم أو قراءة الكتاب إلا من فترة قريبة وبالألمانية ! الكتاب - وهو يروي قصة حقيقية- يتحدث عن علاقة تنشأ بين رجل غني جدًا أصيب بشلل كلي نتيجة حادث ورجل آخر تقدم لوظيفة "مساعد" لدى الأول .. تبدأ العلاقة بحاجة......more