Bernard-Henri Lévy returns to bookstores. The philosopher, married since 1993 to the artist Arielle Dombasle, published a work entitled White Night. This time, no reflection on the international situation. No anthropological reflection either. This book is more like an introspection and an essay on the relationship with night and sleep.
BHL thus admits to being a victim of insomnia. A profound, disabling disease, but above all extremely widespread since according to INSERM, 15 to 20% of French people suffer from it. And the author of Testament of God is far from being the only one to be a victim: the American actor Georges Clooney, his French counterpart Emmanuelle Béart and the former Miss France Malika Ménard are all insomniac personalities. But also and above all, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, with whom he sometimes talks at night. The author can observe the presidential palace from his apartment, and sees the lights go out there. “I know he’s going to the “Madame wing” where he’s going to light another one.” writes BHL on the tenant of the Elysée.
An inability to let go according to BHL
According to Bernard-Henri Lévy, this problem has its source in his childhoodbefore accelerating during adolescence. According to him, he would not be able to sleep because he is “inability to let go”he tells Parisian in the edition of this Saturday January 11. “I marvel at people who sleep naturally” he adds.
The author then begins a philosophical reflection: for him, a common trait remains among all insomniacs. They all should have “hurt to lose control”suffering from “the fear of abandoning oneself”or even “something resembling the fear of death”.
BHL tried everything, in vain
To overcome these demons of insomnia, Bernard-Henri Lévy tried a wide range of treatments. “I think I have tried all the techniques, all the machines, all the remedies, all the sleep institutes possible. And nothing worked” he regrets.
As for the most obvious solution, the sleeping pill, BHL has since given up on it. Not because these medications failed to put him to sleep, but because they deprived him “of the voluptuous pleasure, which he once had, in crossing the gates of sleep in one direction or the other”. A pleasure that he no longer seems able to find. Yet sleep remains essentialbecause it reduces the risk of diabetes, depression, risk of cardiovascular accidents, obesity and even hypertension.
