What is the name of C.S. Lewis’s autobiographical account of his conversion?

Surprised by Joy is C.S. Lewis’s autobiographical account of his intellectual and spiritual development, including his return to Christianity. The book was published in 1955.

Lewis describes childhood experiences, his education, military service in the First World War, and his changing views about religion. The title uses “joy” in a special sense: a sudden, intense longing that Lewis associated with moments of imagination, beauty, and spiritual desire.

The book does not provide a complete day-by-day record of his life. It is a reflective memoir focused on the experiences and ideas that influenced him. Lewis’s conversion developed over time; he moved from atheism toward theism and then Christianity during the 1920s. His friendships with J.R.R. Tolkien and other Christian writers were important in that period.