A Grief Observed

In April 1956, Lewis, a confirmed bachelor, married Joy Davidman, an American poet with two small children. After four brief, intensely happy years, Lewis found himself alone and inconsolable. This is the unflinching account of how a stalwart believer lost his sense of bearings in the "mad midnight moment" of grief. 106 pages, softcover. HarperOne.

Written after his wife's tragic death as a way of surviving the "mad midnight moment," A Grief Observed is C.S. Lewis's honest reflection on the fundamental issues of life, death, and faith in the midst of loss. This work contains his concise, genuine reflections on that period: "Nothing will shake a man -- or at any rate a man like me -- out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring out the truth. Only under torture does he discover it himself." This is a beautiful and unflinchingly homest record of how even a stalwart believer can lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and how he can gradually regain his bearings.

C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English literature at Oxford University until 1954 when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. His major contributions in literary criticism, children’s literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown and acclaim. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include The Chronicles of Narnia, Out of the Silent Planet, The Four Loves, The Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity.

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Reviewed by Caroline Ryder (United Kingdom), July 23, 2009

Recommended to me as a way of dealing with the break up of my childhood family (in adulthood) through divorce. The idea being that a divorce conjures up the same emotions as loss. It was a comfort to know that a man such as Lewis (a confirmed bachelor) could experience such deep emotions and unbridled love for his wife. All the more poignant because of the short time they spent together.

Reviewed by Lacey (Mars Hill, ME), September 06, 2002

C.S. Lewis articulates his grief well. A good book for those who have experienced the loss of a loved one.

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