Surprised by Joy is a memoir of sorts, or a biography of C.S. Books that change how I think and leave me feeling like I’ve been hit by a wave and submerged in the surf are trickier…

Books that are fun, entertaining, scary, or exciting are easy to review. Usually that means it impacted me on a deeper level. However, his friends and contemporaries were quick to notice the coincidence, frequently remarking that Lewis had really been 'Surprised by Joy'.I know I’ve read a good book when I have a hard time putting into words what I think about it. The book's last two chapters cover the end of his search as he makes the leap from atheism to theism and then from theism to Christianity and, as a result, he realizes that Joy is like a 'signpost' to those lost in the woods, pointing the way, and that its appearance is not as important 'when we have found the road and are passing signposts every few miles.' Ĭontrary to assumptions, Surprised by Joy is not about the American poet and writer Joy Gresham, who edited its final draft and would become Lewis' unexpected wife two years after its publication. Lewis ultimately discovers the true nature and purpose of Joy and its place in his own life. However, while he does describe his life, the principal theme of the book is Joy as he defined it for his own purpose. Lewis recounts and remembers his early years with a measure of amusement sometimes mixed with pain. Overall, the book contains less detail concerning specific events than a typical autobiography, although it is not devoid of information about his life. It must have the stab, the pang, the inconsolable longing.' 'Joy is distinct not only from pleasure in general but even from aesthetic pleasure. He is struck with 'stabs of joy' throughout his life.

This Joy was so intense for something so good and so high up it could not be explained with words. His aim was instead to identify and describe the events surrounding his accidental discovery of and consequent search for the phenomenon he labeled 'Joy', his best translation of the idea of Sehnsucht ( German: longing). Lewis' purpose in writing was not primarily historical. The work describes Lewis's life from very early childhood (born 1898) until his conversion to Christianity in 1931, but does not go beyond that date. Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life is a partial autobiography published by C.

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