What was the title of C.S. Lewis's autobiography published in 1955?

C.S. Lewis’s autobiography published in 1955 is titled Surprised by Joy. The book traces important stages in his intellectual and spiritual development, including his childhood, education, military service, and return to Christianity.

Lewis uses the word “joy” in a specialized sense. He describes sudden experiences of intense longing or desire that could not be satisfied by ordinary pleasure. In his account, these experiences appeared through literature, nature, and imagination and eventually contributed to his religious search.

The autobiography covers Lewis’s movement away from Christianity during adolescence and his later return to belief. He became a theist in 1930 and converted to Christianity in 1931, influenced in part by conversations with friends including J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson.

Surprised by Joy is not a complete account of every event in Lewis’s life. It ends before many of his best-known publications, including the Narnia books. The title echoes the poet William Wordsworth’s language about joy and memory.