A Severe Mercy (1977)

by Sheldon Vanauken

Series: A Severe Mercy (1)

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1,247	7	5,766	(4.23)	12

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Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)

Recommended by my sister, this is one of the most amazing love stories I have ever read. Although in my opinion, towards the end it gets a bit exaggerated. Or pathological. Nevertheless, seing two hearts that can understand each other so well and can "yes-and" (yo to all improv people out there) each other continuously is pretty awesome.

mircealungu | Feb 4, 2010 |

Overrated.

mebrock | Jun 28, 2008 |

A great story of love and redemption. This is a great book. I had to read it for a college class, but I would have read it anyway. (

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w_bishop | Dec 9, 2007 |

This memoir is a book about life, marriage, friendship, and faith. Vanauken tells the story of how he and his wife's relationship changed from an intense, romantic love to one controlled by their Christian beliefs. That is not to say that their love wasn't intense or romantic after their conversion, but it did change significantly. He also details his wife's illness, death, and his own grief process afterwards.

Most interesting to me were the letters exchanged between the Vanaukens (mostly Sheldon) and C.S. Lewis. The couple met Lewis while at Oxford and kept up a healthy correspondence with him after they moved back to the States. Lewis is my favorite author, so it was interesting to hear his viewpoints on a much more personal level. These exchanges were my favorite parts of the book. (

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1morechapter | Nov 9, 2007 |

Collection of letters C.S. Lewis wrote to his friend, Sheldon "Van" Vanauken, when he developed a serious illness.

gnbclibrary | Oct 5, 2007 |

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Series (with order)

A Severe Mercy (1)

Canonical title

A Severe Mercy

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University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Oxfordshire, England, UK

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Awards and honors

ECPA Gold Medallion Book Award (Biography/Autobiography, 1978)

National Book Award (Religion/Inspiration (Paperback), 1980)

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Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0060688246, Paperback)

A Severe Mercy, by Sheldon Vanauken, is a heart-rending love story described by its author as "the spiritual autobiography of a love rather than of the lovers." Vanauken chronicles the birth of a powerful pagan love borne out of the relationship he shares with his wife, Davy, and describes the growth of their relationship and the dreams that they share. As a symbol of their love, they name their dream schooner the Grey Goose, "for the grey goose, if its mate is killed flies on alone and never takes another."

While studying at Oxford, Sheldon and Davy develop a friendship with C.S. Lewis, under whose influence and with much intellectual scrutiny they accept the Christian doctrine. As their devotion to God intensifies, Sheldon realizes that he is no longer Davy's primary love--God is. Within this discovery begins a brewing jealousy.

Shortly after, Davy acquires a fatal illness. After her death Sheldon embarks on an intense experience of grief, "to find the meaning of it, taste the whole of it ... to learn from sorrow whatever it had to teach." Through painstaking reveries, he comes to discover the meaning of "a mercy as severe as death, a severity as merciful as love." He learns that her death "had these results: It brought me as nothing else could do to know and end my jealously of God. It saved her faith from assault. ...And it saved our love from perishing."

Replete with 18 letters from C.S. Lewis, A Severe Mercy addresses some of the universal questions that surround faith--the existence of God and the reasons behind tragedy. --Jacque Holthusen

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:39:33 -0500)

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"Beloved, profoundly moving account of the author's marriage, the couple's search for faith and friendship with C. S. Lewis, and a spiritual strength that sustained Vanauken after his wife's untimely death"--Publisher description.