Which C.S. Lewis autobiography describes his conversion using the title Surprised by Joy?

Surprised by Joy is the C.S. Lewis autobiography that describes his conversion and spiritual development.

Published in 1955, the book traces Lewis’s life from childhood through his education, service in the First World War, academic career, and movement from atheism toward Christianity. It is not a complete day-by-day autobiography; instead, Lewis selects experiences that shaped his intellectual and religious outlook.

The title refers to “joy,” Lewis’s term for a powerful and elusive longing that appeared in unexpected moments. He connected this feeling with experiences of imagination, nature, literature, and myth, while distinguishing it from ordinary happiness or pleasure.

Readers sometimes confuse this book with A Grief Observed, which records Lewis’s anguish after his wife Joy Davidman’s death. Surprised by Joy was published several years earlier and focuses on Lewis’s earlier life and conversion rather than bereavement.