Which C.S. Lewis book is an autobiography subtitled “The Shape of My Early Life”?

Surprised by Joy is C.S. Lewis’s autobiography subtitled “The Shape of My Early Life.” Published in 1955, it traces his childhood, education, literary influences, and gradual return to Christianity.

The title refers to Lewis’s idea of “joy,” a fleeting desire or longing that he associated with certain experiences of beauty and imagination. He discusses reading Norse mythology, encountering George MacDonald’s works, and discovering authors who influenced his intellectual development. The book ends before the later public fame of the Narnia novels.

Surprised by Joy is not a complete account of Lewis’s entire life. His marriage to Joy Davidman, for example, occurred after the period chiefly covered by the memoir. Readers also sometimes confuse it with A Grief Observed, which reflects on grief after Davidman’s death and was published under a pseudonym. The autobiography is therefore best understood as an account of formation rather than a full life story.