Surprised by Joy

This book is not an autobiography. It is not a confession. It is, however, certainly one of the most beautiful and insightful accounts of a person coming to faith. In this case, that person is C.S. Lewis and his path takes us from a childhood in Belfast through the loss of his mother, to boarding school and a youthful atheism in England, to the trenches of World War I, and then to life at Oxford, where he studied, read, and, ultimately, reasoned his way back to God.

It is perhaps this aspect of Surprised by Joy that we believers and nonbelievers find most compelling and meaningful; Lewis was searching for joy, for an elusive and momentary sensation of glorious yearning, but he found it, and spiritual life, through the use of reason. In this highly personal, thoughtful, intelligent memoir, Lewis guides us toward joy and toward the surprise that awaits anyone who seeks a life beyond the expected.