In the next sentence, he continues:įor those who are still disposed to proceed I will only underline the quality common to the three experiences it is that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction. Lewis concludes, “The reader who finds these three episodes of no interest need read this book no further, for in a sense the central story of my life is about nothing else.” Of course, I was interested. The second episode concerns Beatrix Potter’s Squirrel Nutkin and the “intense desire” to reawaken the shock that it produced. The third episode concerns Longfellow’s Saga of King Olaf and the desire of “almost sickening intensity” that it produced. The first episode concerns the memory of his brother’s toy garden and the sensation of “enormous bliss” that it produced.

In “The First Years,” Lewis recounts three episodes from his childhood. If the relevance of the book hinges on the experience of “joy,” how does Lewis define this crucial word? How far the story matters to anyone but myself depends on the degree to which others have experienced what I call ‘joy'” (vii). Lewis’ Surprised By Joy, but I think it’s fitting to begin where Lewis does in his preface: “This book is written partly in answer to requests that I would tell how I passed from Atheism to Christianity and partly to correct one or two false notions that seem to have got about.

I’m sure there are a number of ways to approach our reading of C. Here is the e-mail I sent to them and want to share with a larger audience. Lewis’ spiritual memoir, Surprised By Joy. In 2008 I invited two individuals to share in a reading of C.

Surprised by joy book