Born winter of 1898 a Belfast, son of a clergyman's daughter. Both parents were bookish People and he had any book he wanted at his disposal. At ages 6,7 & 8 he was living almost in his imagination. When his mother died, all that was reliable disappeared from his life. His imagination became so important - he felt like he had two lives. He lived with uncertainty, was in WWII got injured. He fought against feelings but in the Trinity Term of 1929, He gave in and admitted God was God and knelt down & prayed, perhaps that night, the most dejected & reluctant convert of all England, he did not see then what is now - the most shining and obvious thing - Divine humility. This prodigal son, at least, walked home on his own two feet.

Surprised By Joy: The Shape of My Early Life is C.S. Lewis's memoir of his life up to becoming a Christian, and how the Joy/longing/sehnsuct he felt at nature and fairytales and mythology primed him for God despite being an atheist. Lewis talks about his schooling, and there was just so much physical abuse and bullying throughout his childhood and adolescent schools that it's a surprise he was able to learn anything. The sheer amount of everything he read and all the languages he learned is staggering; I especially enjoyed reading about his time studying with his uber-logical tutor. Overall, a great book to read if you love CSL's books and want to learn more about his life from the man himself. Fun fact: my C.S. Lewis professor told us some call this book Suppressed By Jack because there's a lot he left out about his life.
Trigger warnings: physical abuse/punishment of children, starvation of children, neglect, bullying, passive suicidal ideation, loss of parent, war mentions, underage sexual relationships mentions, bugs/insects phobia mentions ( )

I'll get right to the point: I didn't love it. Have you read it? What did you get out of it? ( )

51723

A fascinating self portrait of one of the most influential men in recent history.

Lewis paints such pleasing pictures of even the worst scenes, that you find yourself smiling perpetually through the whole book. ( )