Which C.S. Lewis book is an autobiographical account of his early life and conversion?

Surprised by Joy is C.S. Lewis’s autobiographical account of his early life and conversion.

Published in 1955, the book traces Lewis’s childhood, education, intellectual development, movement away from Christianity, and eventual return to Christian belief. Its title refers to “joy,” Lewis’s term for a powerful longing awakened by experiences of beauty, literature, and imagination.

The autobiography does not provide a complete chronological record of every event in Lewis’s life. Instead, it focuses on the experiences and ideas that shaped his intellectual and religious development. It ends before many of his most famous later works were written.

A Grief Observed, by contrast, deals with his grief after the death of his wife, Joy Davidman. Mere Christianity presents Christian arguments, while The Problem of Pain addresses the problem of suffering. These books are related to Lewis’s thought but are not his main autobiography.