C.S. Lewis

A Grief Observed comprises the reflections of the great scholar and Christian on the death of his wife after only a few short years of marriage. Painfully honest in its dissection of his thoughts and feelings, this is a book that details his paralysing grief, bewilderment and sense of loss in simple and moving prose. Invaluable as an insight into the grieving process just as much as it is as an exploration of religious doubt, A Grief Observed will continue to offer its consoling insights to a huge range of readers, as it has for over fifty years. 'A classic of the genre, a literary answer to the pain of loss.' Robert McCrum

A Grief Observed

C. S. Lewis

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 homest record of how even a stalwart believer can lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and how he can gradually regain his bearings.

Grief Observed

Sarah Sammis

Until I read A Grief Observed, C. S. Lewis was only an author who I knew through his Narnia series. As it's not one of my favorite series by far Lewis hasn't been on my radar when I'm looking for books to read. He did though have a long scholarly career and I think as time permits I would like to read more of his nonfiction.

Lewis wrote A Grief Observed as an emotional response to his wife's death. He and (Helen) Joy Davidman had a short and at the time unconventional relationship due to her status as a divorcee. It was clearly a loving and healthy relationship from the way he writes about her. The emotion are raw: anger, grief, depression, and despair.

In the final chapter Lewis describes how he wrote the book as a series of hand written notebooks, each one filled with his thoughts. Although by the close of the final notebook he feels the need to write more, he says that he has promised his family to set them aside and get on with his own life. What the four chapters don't say (how could they?) is that Lewis later died in 1963 after a lengthy illness.

Jenna Bailey

Maureen Freely

Hilary Mantel

Jessica Martin

Readers' Edition with Contributions from Hilary Mantel, Jessica Martin, Jenna Bailey, Rowan Williams, Kate Saunders, Francis Spufford and Maureen Freely

akelo 

Notes on grief, very interesting concepts, emotional and philosophical, a great exercise for the mind and Soul. Loved it. 

Nina Alexandra Bacrau

kaitlan

I don't reread often, but I imagine I will continue to reread to this book. Or journal, rather. There is nothing much to say here except that I owe, in many senses, my understanding of grief and love to C.S. Lewis. 

We cannot understand. The best is perhaps what we understand least.

I came back to this after three years- a strange, moving experience because I read the same words as a different person. Well, perhaps as the same person after all, just a little more grown up, a little more over the grief that consumed me the first time I read it. There is a certain distance and maturity that comes with time, or perhaps not with time but because You can't see anything properly while your eyes are blurred with tears. You can't, in most things, get what you want if you want it too desperately: anyway, you can't get the best out of it.

The first time I read A Grief Observed I was overwhelmed by the ear-splitting weight of my own pain and grief. This time, I think I am surrounded by a blanket of quiet, shared grief- shared by those around me, caused and/or shouldered by those I love. Whatever it is, I am reminded that even when you wonder whether the valley isn't a circular trench...it isn't. There are partial recurrences, but the sequence doesn't repeat. 

Change does not happen quickly, especially in grief. But when it comes, it will feel Like the warming of a room or the coming of daylight. (This is timely, I suppose, because it is the beginning of March now, and the sunlight is finally peeking through.) No more will we feel the need to prove recovery to others, even to ourselves. As C.S. Lewis writes, we will, in time and wisdom, begin to turn to the "thing itself": Not my idea of God, but God. Not my idea of H., but H.

Poi si tornò all' eterna fontana. And then we walk.

Esther Lumanauw

It really felt like you were reading his journal, and to anyone who has ever lost someone a comfort to have tangible words down on paper that explain how you feel day to day. Lewis is an amazing author; his gift is the ability to articulate thoughts and emotions most can’t find the words to.

Dora

Jednostavno mi se nije svidjelo. Procitala sam oko 60% jer nisam imala snage za ostatak. Ne mislim da je knjiga losa. Samo nisam na istoj valnoj duljini kao ona.

A grief observed

Kirsten Simkiss

I think this book is a wonderful resource for those struggling with their religion in the face of loss. Naturally, this is a very Christian book, as C. S. Lewis was very Christian and a firm believer in God, even as he questioned God's motives in creating grief and loss in the world. But in the book, I feel anyone who has ever experienced a deep loss can relate to it's words. The words in this short discussion about grief are very quotable and relatable. While my own personal experience with these sort of things may not relate at all, I feel that reading Lewis's journey could bring comfort to others that feel alone in their grief.

Allison

Celeste Richardson

If I had to describe this book in one word, that word would be raw. You can truly feel Lewis’s pain and anguish on every page. It’s not a book I would recommend to everyone, as it could be theologically difficult for some, but know where Lewis’s faith went after his time of mourning makes it far easier to sympathize with his struggles as he dealt with loss. And the fourth and final section of this short work is packed with brilliant, insightful, encouraging views of God and death and what comes next.

Trever

C.S. Lewis's account of his wife's death is short but potent. It is, of course, heavy on the Christianity, but nonetheless very human. He wasn't afraid to write his thoughts, which makes it an interesting read from any perspective.

Barbara Williford

I love how C.S. Lewis keeps it real! He doesn’t put on a pious view in his writings, he speaks as a broken human, imperfect with doubts, fears and questions. This book opens your mind to the realities of grief and loss and how he analyzes and walks through his journey.

A Grief Observed (Library Edition)

Melody Izard

C.S. Lewis married Joy Gresham later in life and knowing she had cancer. Her death made him question his belief in God. And brought him pain, pain, pain. Each word is lovely. Filled with anguish, but lovely.

A Grief Observed

Reviews