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 honest record of how even a stalwart believer can lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and how he can gradually regain his bearings.
A Grief Observed
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You may have noticed that some of our books are identified as "deckle edge" in the title. Deckle edge books are bound with pages that are made to resemble handmade paper by applying a frayed texture to the edges. Deckle edge is an ornamental feature designed to set certain titles apart from books with machine-cut pages. See a larger image. |
Book Description
Best Value
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
C.S. Lewis joined the human race when his wife, Joy Gresham, died of cancer. Lewis, the Oxford don whose Christian apologetics make it seem like he's got an answer for everything, experienced crushing doubt for the first time after his wife's tragic death. A Grief Observed contains his epigrammatic reflections on that period: "Your bid--for God or no God, for a good God or the Cosmic Sadist, for eternal life or nonentity--will not be serious if nothing much is staked on it. And you will never discover how serious it was until the stakes are raised horribly high," Lewis writes. "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 the book that inspired the film Shadowlands, but it is more wrenching, more revelatory, and more real than the movie. It is a beautiful and unflinchingly honest record of how even a stalwart believer can lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and how he can gradually regain his bearings. --Michael Joseph Gross
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"A very personal, anguished, luminous little book about the meaning of death, marriage, and religion." -- Publishers Weekly
"I read Lewis for comfort and pleasure many years ago, and a glance into the books revives my old admiratation." -- John Updike
"I read Lewis for comfort and pleasure many years ago, and a glance into the books revives my old admiratation." -- John Updike
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers 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 Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. 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 Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
417 of 420 people found the following review helpful
By M. Todd Hall
Format:Hardcover
Lewis' book (journal, really) captures the feeling of those in grief, there is no doubt about that. June 16, 2000 my wife left this life, 8 weeks to the day after our first child was born. In the midst of our struggle, there were several books that my family and I found comfort in, and this book was one of them.
I rated this book 4 stars because it's difficult. It's not difficult to read, it doesn't contain long arguments or technical language. The content is hard for those in the throws of grief. And yet it is somehow comforting to know that you're not alone, the feelings that you feel aren't the signs of insanity. I remember several times thinking I was going insane, that I'd finally lost it...only to read those exact thoughts from Lewis' journal.
Lewis' experience with grief was different from mine, too. I suppose everyone's is different in some way. Lewis is angry with God, and he struggles with his faith. He explains that it wasn't that he was in danger of losing his belief in God, but that he "was in danger of coming to believe such terrible things about him." You may identify with Lewis' words, and I truly believe you'll find comfort in this book.
If I may, I would like to recommend another book for those who suffer and those in ministry to the suffering, as well. Nicholas Wolterstorff's LAMENT FOR A SON captures the intimate details of grief, and in many ways I identified more with Wolterstorff than I did with Lewis.
For those who've lost, this book is a difficult and yet rewarding right of passage. You travel down the narrow path, on hallowed ground. You make a journey that those who haven't made cannot speak of, and you can find comfort in the experience of those who travel with you.
For those in ministry, this book is an excellent insight into the pain of those to whom you minister. Lewis attempts to coldly analyze his grief, and in the end he cannot. He simply expresses his grief without even attempting to gloss over it. The information you can glean from this book for your ministry is immeasurable.
God bless you as you travel down this long and painful road. Remember, as Lewis did, the hope that will sustain you: God who raises the dead. The journey is difficult, but in the end we will see and hold them again. God be with you.
168 of 170 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
After having read several of Lewis' books, I read "A Grief Observed" which quickly became my favorite. It is his journal - and almost too personal - where you bear witness to Lewis' progress as he sloughs his way through the deep mire of sorrow and grief.
In the first pages of the book, he tells of going to God, seeking relief from the agony he feels in his heart over the fresh loss of his beloved wife, Helen Joy, only to find - the door slammed and the sound of the door being bolted and doubled bolted from the inside.
He rails against God and his faith is stirred to its core.
In the end, he finds his way back to God, but it is not an easy journey or a primrose path.
For all of Lewis' intellectual reasonings and scholarly attainments, I find "A Grief Observed" to be his best work because it comes from the very heart of a man seeking to find the answers to life's hardest questions. It is not a philosophical insight or an intellectual wrangling, but a spirit-filled work that lays bare the heart of a man who loved his wife completely.
This is an important book. Read it. You'll be changed.
103 of 104 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This work chronicles Lewis' struggle to come to terms with the death of his wife. Because it comes from his private journals, it may not seem as "polished" as some of his other writings. Personally, I appreciate the way it reveals the innerworkings of a very emotional and private man.
In contrast to many works, this book doesn't try to simplify grief, justify it, or dance around the issue with pat observations or cheery reminders. Instead, it dares to question those very tactics. Lewis allows himself to feel a broad range of emotions, including doubt and great despair. I love this quality in Lewis: he is one of the few Chrisitian writers who is brutally honest about his fears and anger. His writings allow that God is big enough to handle our toughest questions.
This little book is full of images and ideas that will stay with you long after you've finished it. Lewis takes feelings that you can't quite pinpoint and eloquently puts them into words. As I read the book, I kept thinking to myself "Yes, THAT'S what I feel too!" Misery does love company, and Lewis is excellent company.
As usual, Lewis is full of astute observations and points to ponder, but don't expect a bunch of clean and pretty answers. At the end, his grief is still very much a work in progress, which is definitely how it has been in my life....a journey.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
A grief support book
This was an ok book to read while passing through the grief process. I liked some of the quotes that were included. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Linda A. Wright
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heart-wrenching & Healing
Finally, a book about grief that I can relate to! My 23 year-old son died unexpectedly almost 4 years ago; and no amount of "counseling" from a secular perspective, nor... Read more
Published 16 days ago by Donna Frayer
2.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent work by C.S. Lewis, The problem is in how poorly the book...
Very cheaply made. The pages when the book is closed do not line up, there is up to half inch difference between them. Read more
Published 21 days ago by trabilac
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very real companion when wxperiencing gief
I have just lost my second wife to pancreatic cancer after losing my first wife of fifty years to the same terrible disease. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Robert W. Hannah
4.0 out of 5 stars
Grief and Loss
I am currently in a Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan course...this is the book that we are ending the semester with. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Amanda
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Grief Observed
A Grief Observed, written by author and theologian C.S. Lewis, is his personal journals (eventually made into a book after his death) of his process of grieving for the death of... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jenna Wellborn
5.0 out of 5 stars
I wish I were so eloquent.
My son recently died and I've been looking for comfort wherever I could find it. I had read some of this book several years ago and put it down near the beginning because there... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Nola E. Sayne
4.0 out of 5 stars
Timeless
A gift that is timeless words of wisdom in a grief/love relationtionship! This describes so well what love is really about!
Published 1 month ago by B. K. Stinson
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not A Good Book To Give To Someone Who Is Grieving
I bought this book to give to my sister when she lost her husband of 60 years. I decided I should read it first to make sure it would be appropriate. Read more
Published 1 month ago by L. Hisle
5.0 out of 5 stars
A grief observed from new widower
This collection of thoughts and feelings can be of use in the process of someone's grief. It will fit not fit line by line , but a fair bit of it will. Well worth reading.
Published 1 month ago by Skritch
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
So You'd Like to...
|
|
