Tuesday, April 22, 2014

A Grief Observed


Easily the saddest book I have ever read, C.S. Lewis' book A Grief Observed is his journal he wrote after his wife Joy died of cancer.
It was the first time in his life that he had experienced such a sudden jolt of pain and it is evident in his words that he was completely lost. Lewis' faith was tested and he shares his doubts and anger towards God with readers.
"What chokes every prayer and every hope is the memory of all the prayers H. and I offered and all the false hopes we had. Not hopes raised merely by our own wishful thinking, hopes encouraged, even forced upon us, by false diagnoses, by X-ray photographs, by strange remissions, by one temporary recovery that might have ranked as a miracle. Step by step we were 'led up the garden path.' Time after time, when He seemed most gracious He was really preparing the next torture."

It is a very personal experience that few people are willing to share with the world. As time passes, Lewis comes to conclusions about death and life that will give hope to anyone who has lost a loved one.

"God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn't."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'd just lost my father and stumbled upon your blog. Will definitely look up this book by this illustrious author. Thanks for the review.