Surprised by Joy : The Shape of My Early Life

C. S. Lewis

Geoffrey Howard (Narrator)

07-01-00

6hrs 39min

Abridgement

Unabridged

Genre

Nonfiction/Biography & Autobiography

As low as $0.00
Play Audio Sample

07-01-00

6hrs 39min

Abridgement

Unabridged

Genre

Nonfiction/Biography & Autobiography

Description

“Fascinating.” Nation

In the closest thing we have to an autobiography, C. S. Lewis, an unfailingly honest and perceptive observer of self, here shares the story of his personal spiritual journey. With characteristic candor and insight, he describes how his “search for joy” led him from the conventional Christianity of his childhood to a youthful atheism, and finally back to an assured Christianity compatible with his formidable intellect. With no pretense, Lewis describes his early schooldays, his experiences in the trenches during World War I, and his undergraduate life at Oxford, where he reasoned his way to God. Lewis’ “surprise” holds continuing interest not only for admirers of his work but for any modern seeker concerned with the compatibility of the rational and the spiritual.

Praise

“Fascinating.” Nation

“He is admirably equipped to write spiritual autobiography for the plain man, for his outstanding gift is clarity. You can take it at two levels, as straight autobiography, or as a kind of spiritual thriller, a detective’s probing of clue and motive that led up to his return to the Christianity he had lost in childhood.” Sunday Times (London)

“Anyone approaching this book as a study in the psychology of conversion will find the greatest interest in the dual paths—intellectual and intuitive—which converged at last. But the casual reader looking merely for an enjoyable book will equally value many other parts.” Saturday Review

“Since St. Augustine’s meticulous analysis of what was the light, what the color, what the sound, the smell, the touch, what, indeed, was the good he loved when he loved God, few writers have taken the trouble to distinguish, with such clarity of psychological insight, the nature and the degree of attraction, the nature and the degree of satisfaction, apprehended by man.” Commonweal

Details
More Information
Language English
Release Day Jun 30, 2000
Release Date July 1, 2000
Release Date Machine 962409600
Imprint Blackstone Publishing
Provider Blackstone Publishing
Categories Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Biographies & Memoirs, Art & Literature, Religious, Nonfiction - Adult, Nonfiction - All
Author Bio
C. S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer 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 English at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. His major contributions to literary criticism, children’s literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown and acclaim. Lewis 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 the Chronicles of Narnia, Out of the Silent PlanetThe Four LovesThe Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity.

Narrator Bio
Geoffrey Howard

Geoffrey Howard (a.k.a. Ralph Cosham) (1936–2014) was a British journalist who changed careers to become a narrator and screen and stage actor. He performed in more than one hundred professional theatrical roles. His audiobook narrations were named “Audio Best of the Year” by Publishers Weekly, and he won seven AudioFile Earphones Awards, and in 2013 he won the coveted Audie Award for Best Mystery Narration for his reading of Louise Penny’s The Beautiful Mystery.

Overview

In the closest thing we have to an autobiography, C. S. Lewis, an unfailingly honest and perceptive observer of self, here shares the story of his personal spiritual journey. With characteristic candor and insight, he describes how his “search for joy” led him from the conventional Christianity of his childhood to a youthful atheism, and finally back to an assured Christianity compatible with his formidable intellect. With no pretense, Lewis describes his early schooldays, his experiences in the trenches during World War I, and his undergraduate life at Oxford, where he reasoned his way to God. Lewis’ “surprise” holds continuing interest not only for admirers of his work but for any modern seeker concerned with the compatibility of the rational and the spiritual.

Reviews

Write Your Own Review
Only registered users can write reviews. Please Sign in or create an account