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A Grief Observed Paperback – April 21, 2015

by C. S. Lewis (Author), Madeleine L'Engle (Foreword)

737 customer reviews

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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.

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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 the Hardcover edition.

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"I read Lewis for comfort and pleasure many years ago, and a glance into the books revives my old admiratation."-- John Updike"A very personal, anguished, luminous little book about the meaning of death, marriage, and religion."-- "Publishers Weekly

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Product details

Series: Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis
Paperback: 76 pages
Publisher: HarperOne; 1 edition (February 6, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060652381
ISBN-13: 978-0060652388
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.3 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 737 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Books > Self-Help > Death & Grief > Grief & Bereavement
- #5 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Christian Living > Death & Grief
- #6 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Christian Living > Family

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The Only Helpful Book on Grieving I've Found

ByJB - A Guyon August 1, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I found this book 20 years ago when my beautiful daughter was stillborn. Of all of the things offered to me at the time, this was the only thing I read that provided any comfort. I am reading again now when a close friend has taken his own life and left a young, beautiful family behind. Neither event makes any sense to me. Both challenge my faith. You will not find any neat answers, cosmic solutions or expressions of God that will "help you get through it." You will read the journal of a man devastated by his loss. He writes of his grief as he observes it. He articulates the great internal battle that I suffered.

If you are grieving an enormous loss, you may find comfort here. I can't explain why, as C.S. Lewis did not include words of comfort. I have found absolutely no comfort in anything else I have read - with titles like Roses in December and so on. They tend to be written after the author had worked through the grief and can speak of it with the clarity of hindsight that the experience taught them. Well, when you are in the depths of sorrow, nothing makes any sense. Everything you believed has been knocked over. And that is exactly what C.S. Lewis describes in his own grief. It is profound. If you have not suffered a devastating loss, this book might not communicate well to you. But if you have, you will find a great mind and wonderful writer who understands your grief well enough to put words to it.

11 comment 74 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A Love Story...

Bywebtimedaleyon September 18, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

TOGETHER THEY FOUND A FAITH THEY COULD BOTH HOLD ONTO..AND THEN THE UNTHINKABLE HAPPENED......read on dear reader read on....

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Profound and moving

Byhissongcleon March 15, 2008

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Lewis, a confirmed intellectual bachelor, almost comically stumbled into a deeply romantic and erotic marriage late in life. An American poet, Joy Davidman, while visiting him in England was stricken with breast cancer. Her visa expired and she faced a mindlessly bureaucratic forced expulsion which probably would have killed her. Lewis agreed to what he expected to be a marriage of convenience, giving her a right to stay in England long enough to die peaceably. Unaccountably, almost impishly, she recovered and they became man and wife in fact and not just pro forma. Lewis was delighted, swept away and overwhelmed; he became radiantly happy.

This brief moment of joy, was snatched from him, however, as the cancer reasserted itself. Lewis poured out his profound grief at the death of his wife on paper, sharing his thoughts, feelings, longings in a journal which became A Grief Observed. Unlike some of his other works, which are witty, philosophical, almost whimsical at times, this book is deeply personal and profoundly painful, almost raw in its emotional intensity. It is also a deep testament to Lewis's faith. Like all humanity, he faced loss and suffering and death. Lewis, like Job, transforms is somehow able to hand over all this darkness to the Lord in an act of sheer faith.

My own father recently died. I found Lewis's book to be a great comfort and a powerful guide through the grieving process. I strongly recommend this to anyone who has recently lost a loved one.

One note on the edition. This edition contains a foreword by Madeline L'Engle. The foreword enhanced the book, but earlier editions had a longer foreword (or possibly an afterword) by a male friend of Lewis which I found even more moving. I particularly remember a joke in the earlier edition about Lewis being surprised by Joy. If you've read the older edition, know that the supporting material is different.

0Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

He is definitely a genius. He does use big ...

ByJohanna M Lochmilleron April 20, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

He is definitely a genius. He does use big words and in the beginning I was ready to slam the book shut. Further reading made me understand his feelings.

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

I'm grieving the loss of my husband and best friend of 43 years

ByR. L. Travison October 28, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I'm grieving the loss of my husband and best friend of 43 years. This book was definitely something I could relate to as i slowly adjust to letting go of what was and embracing my life as a widow. What a comfort to me were C. S. Lewis's thoughts on the loss of his wife.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Great Insight

ByCharles Desiatoon May 6, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

My name is Judy Desiato, the reader of this work. Because I am older, this type of subject is familiar to me. C. S. Lewis has a gift for communicating his pain in a very real way. Any widow or widower could be helped by his honesty. I have thought of buying a few extra hard copies and giving them to some of our friends who are in his situation. Some people need to question, and he encourages them to do just that. Sometimes the work was too obviously personal and painful so I gave it four stars. Some people might give up before they finish.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

I found great comfort in C

BySandra Peckinpahon March 7, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I often give this book as a gift when I hear of someone's loss. Having lost my son and my husband, I found great comfort in C.S. Lewis' honest and transparent observations as he deeply grieved the loss of his wife. He questioned his faith, whether life was worth living, and if he'd ever be able to experience joy again. His thoughts often astounded me because I thought I was the only one who felt that way! "A Grief Observed" is one of the most important books I read during my bereavement, and in working with people who've experienced loss, I continue to recommend it.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Amazing story

ByMcKenzie Raineson July 15, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This an incredible book to give to anyone grieving the loss of a loved one. So beautifully written.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

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Five Stars

Amazing series of books!

Published 1 day ago by Rupinder Singh

Five Stars

great gift

Published 8 days ago by Cargirl82

Phenomenology of Grief

CS Lewis with uncharacteristic sentiments yet still had the philosopher's mind to dissect grief. Only to come back to the beginning.Read more

Published 10 days ago by Kilgore Trout

Comforting guide through the grieving process

I find myself purchasing this book over and over again as it is a beautifully written comforting guide through the grieving process.Read more

Published 11 days ago by Dawn

Important book

I gave the book a "3" of 5 stars rating because it was so difficult to read. I think because of author's high intelligence.Read more

Published 12 days ago by JT Beard

A classic

Easy read. This is a classic that is often recommended for widows.

Published 12 days ago by Amazon Customer

A very significant work

A journal written by C.S. Lewis from his personal experience upon the death of his wife. He tells of the shock, the stress, the doubts and frustrations with God and then his...Read more

Published 14 days ago by paul sellers

Be aware that, outside of the foreward and the ...

Be aware that, outside of the foreward and the introduction, the "book" consists of exactly 73 pages - and small pages with generous line spacing, at that.Read more

Published 1 month ago by SSMackinac

Kudos Mr. Lewis

He describes the personal side of grief, at least my grief, to about 90% "correct." Having buried my parents, twin brother, close relatives and love of my life I feel both...Read more

Published 1 month ago by Ryan B.

An Honest View into the Agony of Loss.

Lewis journals the agonized philosophical wrestling with the lucid thought that earmarks his other writings.Read more

Published 1 month ago by Gary Harrison

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