Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life

A repackaged edition of the revered author’s spiritual memoir, in which he recounts the story of his divine journey and eventual conversion to Christianity.

C. S. Lewis—the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—takes readers on a spiritual journey through his early life and eventual embrace of the Christian faith. Lewis begins with his childhood in Belfast, surveys his boarding school years and his youthful atheism in England, reflects on his experience in World War I, and ends at Oxford, where he became "the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England." As he recounts his lifelong search for joy, Lewis demonstrates its role in guiding him to find God.

In Surprised by Joy, C. S. Lewis shares his enthralling spiritual journey through his early life, chronicling his conversion to the Christian faith. “When we set out, I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did. . . . It was . . . like when a man, after a long sleep, still lying motionless in bed, becomes aware that he is now awake.” Lewis starts with his childhood in Belfast, then describes his boarding school years and his youthful atheism in En-gland, moves to his experience in World War I, and ends in Oxford. Through it all Lewis explores his lifelong search for joy and its role in pointing him toward God.