Surprised by Joy

An unfailingly honest and acutely perceptive observer of humanity, C. S. Lewis recounts his search for joy, a spiritual journey that led him from a traditional Christian childhood in Belfast to a youthful atheism and, finally, back to a confident Christianity. Lewis candidly and sensitively describes his early schooldays, his experiences in the trenches during World War I, and his undergraduate life at Oxford—where he reasoned his way back to God. It is perhaps the common-sensical aspect of his conversion to Christianity that makes Lewis's story so compelling and meaningful, especially to contemporary readers who are believers and nonbelievers alike.

Since its first publication in 1955, Lewis's journey—his "surprise"—continues to be deeply important to his admirers and to those concerned with the compatibility of the rational and the spiritual.

Contents:

Preface

1. The First Years
2. Concentration Camp
3. Mountbracken and Campbell
4. I Broaden My Mind
5. Renaissance
6. Bloodery
7. Light and Shade
8. Release
9. The Great Knock
10. Fortune's Smile
11. Check
12. Guns and Good Company
13. The New Look
14. Checkmate
15. The Beginning