Which C.S. Lewis autobiography describes his childhood and intellectual development?

Surprised by Joy is C.S. Lewis’s autobiography about his childhood and intellectual development.

Published in 1955, the book traces Lewis’s early life, education, literary interests, and changing philosophical outlook. It discusses his childhood in Belfast, his experiences at school, his service during the First World War, and his movement from atheism toward Christianity.

The title refers to Lewis’s idea of “joy,” a recurring longing or sudden experience of desire that he associated with beauty, imagination, and spiritual searching. The word does not simply mean ordinary happiness. Lewis presents the episodes as part of an intellectual and spiritual development rather than as a complete day-by-day memoir.

Surprised by Joy is sometimes treated as a straightforward conversion narrative, but it also contains substantial material about books, friendships, education, and the formation of Lewis’s ideas. It is distinct from Mere Christianity, which developed from radio talks.