"A Second Wind" by Philippe Pozzo di Borgo

   

Philippe Pozzo di Borgo

 First I saw the movie "The Upside", the story of Philippe, a quadriplegic, and Abdel, his caretaker.  Then I read the book of the same name, written by Abdel Sellou.  But I still wanted to hear from Philippe, himself. 
   I discovered that Philippe had written a book in 2001 called "A Second Wind".  So I was able to get an inter-library loan, in order to get Philippe's side of the story.
 

  
     It is a story of great physical struggles.  Not only did Philippe become a quadriplegic at 42, but his wife was dying of cancer.  She was sick for 17 years.
   They had also had great struggles with starting a family.  Beatrice (Philippe's wife) had had many miscarriages as well as giving birth to a dead baby.  They finally adopted two children.  This is the real cover when the book was first published.
  
 

  

   But...this is the cover now.  What a disappointment.
 Even though this autobiography of Philippe was written eighteen year ago, the cover has been replaced with one from the movie.  Actors on the cover of a real autobiography!


 
    I was very interested in hearing from Philippe himself.  The movie focussed on the relationship between Philippe and Abdul that lasted for ten years. However, "A Second Wind" covers  much more of Philippe's life.
   This is the way Philippe describes Abdul: "He was unbearable, vain, proud, brutal, inconsistent, human.  Without him, I would have rotted to death.  Abdel looked after me without fail, as if I was a babe in arms.  Attentive to the smallest detail, close to me when I was miles away from myself, he set me free when I was a prisoner, protected me when I was weak, made me laugh when I cried.  He was my guardian devil."
   This aspect of the 'guardian devil' is a big part of the movie, as Abdel does many irregular and even illegal acts in order to bring Philippe out of his depression after his wife died.
    I have discovered that Philippe wrote another book to follow "A Second Wind".  The follow-up is called "The Guardian Devil", but I have not attempted to search that one out.  I think I have exhausted my interest in this story, fascinating tho' it be!