Surprised by Joy is C.S. Lewis's 1955 autobiography about his conversion and early intellectual life.
The book covers Lewis's childhood, education, experiences during the First World War, and development as a scholar and writer. It also traces his changing religious outlook, including his movement from childhood Christianity to atheism and then back toward belief.
Lewis uses the word “joy” in a specialized sense. He describes sudden experiences of intense longing or desire, often triggered by literature, music, or nature. These experiences became part of his explanation of how his imagination and religious thinking developed, although the autobiography is not a complete day-by-day record of his life.
The title is frequently misunderstood as referring mainly to happiness or to Lewis's marriage. It was published before his 1956 marriage to Joy Davidman and instead reflects his account of spiritual longing. A Grief Observed, by contrast, concerns bereavement after Davidman's death and was originally published under a pseudonym.