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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
“You tell me, ‘She goes on,’ but my heart and body are crying out, ‘Come back, come back!’” These aching words show the depth of grief C.S. Lewis felt when he lost his wife Joy to cancer. Long before we knew how important vulnerability is, C.S. Lewis modeled it by bravely publishing his truest feelings. I had no idea that this spiritual giant wrestled with spiritual confusion, to the point he felt he was banging on the door of heaven, only to have it slammed in his face with the sound of “double bolting on the inside.” (Hint: The book doesn’t end on that painful note.) I appreciate the way his little 60-page book normalizes the experiences that accompany grief and show that light does come at the end of the tunnel.
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
no rating because i read this for school and didn’t really understand what i was reading about but might as well say i read a book in 2020 right
Wow. I had no idea so much thought could be packed into such a little book. Lewis doesn’t beat around the bush. He articulates thoughts about grieving that I’ve had for 2 decades and never spoken aloud. He says fantastical things that I’m immediately able to refute, but then follows it up in the next breath with something I feel deeply to my core that I’ve never even considered before. I’m completely in awe of the depth and breadth of humanity’s grief- how it can be so different from person to person and yet so similar, even 65 years later still ringing so true. This book possibly changed my life. It will change the way I grieve my losses and makes me feel so validated and seen. I only wish I’d read it years ago, but then maybe it wouldn’t have had such a profound impact on me.
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Heavily Christian, C.S. Lewis describes the various stages of his thoughts as he grieved and how he made sense of his emotions. An excellent read, especially for a grieving Christian looking for a "holy, but honest" perspective.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Religious bigotry
Minor: Ableism, Death, Death of parent
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced