C.S. Lewis's autobiography Surprised by Joy was published in 1955.
The book recounts Lewis's intellectual and spiritual development, including his childhood, education, service in the First World War, and gradual return to Christianity. Its title refers to Lewis's idea of “joy” as a distinctive longing or desire, rather than simply a passing feeling of happiness.
Surprised by Joy does not cover Lewis's entire life. It ends before some of his best-known later events, including his marriage to Joy Davidman. Readers sometimes classify it as a conventional autobiography, but it is especially focused on the experiences and ideas that shaped his conversion and literary imagination.