Sylvain Tesson has always been a great lover of thrills. During his career, the famous travel writer has pushed his limits many times. Determined, he notably walked more than 5000 kilometers through the Himalayas or even lived several months without water or electricity in a cabin in Siberia. Experiences that shaped him as a man. But living in constant danger, Sylvain Tesson has had traumatic experiences. On August 21, 2014, the latter even nearly lost his life after a heavy fall. An accident that occurred during an evening with Jean-Christophe Rufin.
In full promotion of his book Berezina, Sylvain Tesson fell from a gutter he had just climbed. According to information from Christophe Raylat, operational director of Guérin editions in Chamonix, the tragedy happened “leaving the restaurant, where he was celebrating the delivery of his manuscript to Guérin editions”.
The shattered skull, crumbled vertebrae and half of the paralyzed face
During this tragic evening, Sylvain Tesson fell more than ten meters. Hospitalized, the one who had just lost his mother, Marie-Claude Tesson-Millet, remained ten days in a coma. When he woke up, he discovered his bruised body. His skull shattered, his vertebrae in pieces, he could no longer hear in one ear and half his face was paralyzed.
“I deeply believe in chains, in this idea of dominoes, but not in the existence of a god who would manipulate our destinies. Death did not want me, I only went there and back fast. Even if she wanted me, it wasn’t very unpleasant. This accident reinforced my idea that it is absolutely necessary to seek violent death, the collective fantasy of dying in one’s bed – in the term of possible long suffering – is a horror”, he confided to The Express in 2015. Despite this terrible accident, Sylvain Tesson has recovered.
VB
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