Which autobiography did C.S. Lewis publish in 1955?

C.S. Lewis published Surprised by Joy in 1955.

Surprised by Joy is an autobiographical account of Lewis’s intellectual and spiritual development. The book describes his childhood, education, reading, experiences in the First World War, and gradual movement from atheism toward Christianity. Its title refers to a powerful longing or experience of joy that Lewis connected with imagination and desire.

The book is sometimes confused with A Grief Observed, which Lewis published later under the pseudonym N.W. Clerk after the death of his wife, Joy Davidman. Surprised by Joy is instead focused on Lewis’s earlier life and conversion journey.

Lewis does not present every event as a conventional year-by-year memoir. He selects episodes that illuminate changing ideas, influences, friendships, and beliefs. The autobiography is therefore especially useful for understanding how Lewis interpreted his own literary and religious development.