A Grief Observed is a very raw and honest chronicle of what Lewis experienced after he lost his wife, Joy Davidman Lewis. He asks questions that many ask whether they are Christian or grieving or neither. Where is God? What kind of God is he really? The book was originally published in 1961 under the pseudonym N. W. Clerk because he did not want to be associated with it, but was later persuaded by his friends to use his real name.

Lewis wrote as a way to keep from falling apart completely. Finding some empty notebooks at home, he jotted down his thoughts and ponderings. The book is therefore broken into four chapters, one for each notebook. When he started the fourth notebook, Lewis wrote, “This is the fourth - and the last - empty MS book I can find in the house.... I resolve to let this limit my jottings. I will not start buying books for the purpose.” Each chapter is written in a series of short paragraphs. It can be read straight through or a paragraph at a time - whichever way allows for the reader to best consider what Lewis is expressing.

By the end of the book, Lewis has not lost his faith but has found it strengthened and expanded. God is not cruel, but indeed loving. He doesn’t abandon us but sometimes we have to kick and scream and exhaust ourselves before we let Him get close to us.

The introduction by Madeleine L’Engle doesn’t add anything to the book. Mostly she talked about how different was her own experience when her husband died to that of Lewis’s when he lost his wife. A Grief Observed didn’t do much for her although she did find some points in the book on which to comment.

A Grief Observed is an excellent book for pondering the deeper questions yet doing so in an accessible way. There are no pretensions, just honesty. Highly recommended.

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