A Grief Observed
(C.S. Lewis)

Synopsis: A man's journal through grief. When C.S. Lewis lost his wife and the love of his life, Joy Gresham to cancer, he struggled with despair, he struggled with his sanity, and he struggled with his faith. Lucky for us, he wrote it all down in his journal. This candid book of lamentations is exactly what its title states, "A grief observed." Personal and emotional, it documents one man and how he dealt with the loss of his best friend and how it affected his relationship with his God and ultimately drew him closer to his Savior.

Brothy's Favorite Passage (or one of them): "And no one ever told me about the laziness of grief. Except at my job - where the machine seems to run on much as usual - I loathe the slightest effort. Not only writing but even reading a letter is too much. Even shaving. What does it matter now whether my cheek is rough or smooth? They say an unhappy man wants distractions - something to take him out of himself. Only as a dog-tired man wants an extra blanket on a cold night; he's rather lie there shivering than get up and find one. It's easy to see why the lonely become untidy, finally, dirty and disgusting."

Brothy's Opinion in a Nutshell: This is one of the most helpful books ever written on the subject of loss and disappointment with God (seconded only by Philip Yancey's Book "Disappointment with God" and the book of Lamentations). Although, each person grieves in their own way, Lewis demonstrates that loss is universal, it touches us all and we have the obligation to decide whether that loss will bring us closer to God or drive us from him. As he writes, "Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not 'So there's no God after all' but 'So this is what God's really like. Deceive yourself no longer." The struggle of faith and loss hits something deep within us all. As it has over the centuries. David's Psalms and Lamentations, The Preacher's Ecclesiastes, show us the questions we harbor towards God that we dare not utter aloud. Lewis, writes these questions and then shares with us his journey back into faith, his conclusion like the writer of Ecclesiastes who wrote, "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." When all else is stripped away all that man has is his purpose, his reason for existing, to worship the Creator.

<--[ Take me out of here!]