Which C.S. Lewis autobiography describes his movement from atheism to Christianity?
Answer
Surprised by Joy
Surprised by Joy is the C.S. Lewis autobiography describing his movement from atheism to Christianity.
Published in 1955, the book recounts Lewis’s intellectual and spiritual development from childhood through his conversion. It discusses his education, experiences in the First World War, friendships, reading, and changing views about religion.
The title refers to Lewis’s idea of “joy,” a sudden longing or desire that he associated with moments of imagination and transcendent awareness. In the book, that idea helps explain the experiences that influenced his eventual return to Christian belief.
Surprised by Joy is not a complete day-by-day autobiography. It emphasizes the development of Lewis’s ideas and religious outlook. A Grief Observed, by contrast, is a personal meditation on the death of Joy Davidman and is not an account of his conversion.