Which C.S. Lewis autobiography describes his childhood, education, and conversion experiences?

Surprised by Joy is C.S. Lewis’s autobiography about his childhood, education, and conversion experiences.

Published in 1955, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life covers Lewis’s childhood in Belfast, schooling in England, service in the First World War, studies at Oxford, and gradual movement toward Christian belief. The title refers to “joy,” a term Lewis used for an intense longing sparked by beauty, stories, and experiences of transcendence.

The book is an intellectual and spiritual memoir rather than a complete account of Lewis’s entire life. It ends before many of his best-known mature publications and does not provide a detailed narrative of his later marriage or academic career. Lewis also changes some names and compresses parts of the chronology.

A common mix-up is with A Grief Observed, which is a later record of mourning after Joy Davidman’s death. Surprised by Joy instead focuses on the early formation of Lewis’s imagination, education, friendships, and religious outlook.