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A Grief Observed
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A Grief Observed Hardcover - 2009

by C. S. Lewis

This very personal anguished story of the death of Lewis's wife is reissued with a foreword by Madeleine L'Engle. The celebrated author shares an intenseaccount of the meaning of death with wit and insight.


About this book

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 paralyzing 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.” From publisher Faber and Faber.


From the publisher

A classic work on grief, A Grief Observed is C.S. Lewis's honest reflection on the fundamental issues of life, death, and faith in the midst of loss. Written after his wife's tragic death as a way of surviving the "mad midnight moments," A Grief Observed an unflinchingly truthful account of how loss can lead even a stalwart believer to lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and the inspirational tale of how he can possibly regain his bearings.

From the rear cover

Written with love, humility, and faith, this brief but poignant volume was first published in 1961 and concerns the death of C. S. Lewis's wife, the American-born poet Joy Davidman. In her introduction to this new edition, Madeleine L'Engle writes: "I am grateful to Lewis for having the courage to yell, to doubt, to kick at God in angry violence. This is a part of a healthy grief which is not often encouraged. It is helpful indeed that C. S. Lewis, who has been such a successful apologist for Christianity, should have the courage to admit doubt about what he has so superbly proclaimed. It gives us permission to admit our own doubts, our own angers and anguishes, and to know that they are part of the soul's growth."

Written in longhand in notebooks that Lewis found in his home, A Grief Observed probes the "mad midnight moments" of Lewis's mourning and loss, moments in which he questioned what he had previously believed about life and death, marriage, and even God. Indecision and self-pity assailed Lewis. "We are under the harrow and can't escape," he writes. "I know that the thing I want is exactly the thing I can never get. The old life, the jokes, the drinks, the arguments, the lovemaking, the tiny, heartbreaking commonplace." Writing A Grief Observed as "a defense against total collapse, a safety valve," he came to recognize that "bereavement is a universal and integral part of our experience of love."

Lewis writes his statement of faith with precision, humor, and grace. Yet neither is Lewis reluctant to confess his continuing doubts and his awareness of his own human frailty. This is precisely the quality which suggests that A Grief Observed may become "among the great devotional books of our age."

First Edition Identification

The book was first published in 1961 by Faber and Faber, London, under the pseudonym N.W. Clerk. Lewis wished to avoid identification as the author and referred to his wife as only ‘H’.

Details

  • Title A Grief Observed
  • Author C. S. Lewis
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition Later Printing
  • Pages 96
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher HarperOne, New York, New York, U.S.A.
  • Date 2009-07-28
  • ISBN 9780060652739 / 006065273X
  • Weight 0.43 lbs (0.20 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.71 x 5.25 x 0.53 in (19.58 x 13.34 x 1.35 cm)
  • Themes
    • Religious Orientation: Christian
    • Theometrics: Catholic
    • Theometrics: Evangelical
    • Theometrics: Mainline
    • Topical: Death/Dying
  • Library of Congress subjects Consolation, Lewis, C. S - Religion
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 95109081
  • Dewey Decimal Code 242.4

Media reviews

Citations

  • Christianity Today, 08/01/2009, Page 57
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A Grief Observed

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