Which 1955 C.S. Lewis autobiography recounts his journey from atheism back to Christianity?

C.S. Lewis’s 1955 autobiography about his return to Christianity is Surprised by Joy.

The book traces Lewis’s intellectual and spiritual development from childhood through his conversion. It discusses his early religious upbringing, growing skepticism, intense interest in mythology and literature, service in the First World War, and later friendships with writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien and Owen Barfield.

Lewis describes Christianity as a gradual discovery rather than a single uncomplicated moment. He returned to the Church of England in 1931, after earlier stages that included theism and a renewed belief in God. The book’s title refers to an important form of longing or desire in Lewis’s thought, especially the sudden experiences he called “Joy.”

Surprised by Joy is sometimes confused with A Grief Observed, but the two books have different purposes. Surprised by Joy is an autobiography focused on Lewis’s spiritual and intellectual formation; A Grief Observed is a later meditation on grief after his wife’s death.