Which C.S. Lewis book is a 1956 spiritual autobiography?

Surprised by Joy is C.S. Lewis’s 1956 spiritual autobiography.

The book traces Lewis’s intellectual and religious development, including his childhood imagination, his years of atheism, and his eventual return to Christianity. Lewis describes moments of intense longing that he called “Joy,” using the word for a deep, elusive desire rather than ordinary happiness.

The memoir covers important influences on him, including Norse mythology, medieval literature, George MacDonald, and his friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien. It also discusses his education and the changing shape of his beliefs before his conversion.

Surprised by Joy is not a conventional day-by-day autobiography. Lewis selected episodes that illustrated his intellectual journey and his understanding of longing. Readers sometimes confuse it with A Grief Observed, which concerns his grief after the death of his wife, Joy Davidman, and was published under a pseudonym in its first edition.