Posted on 09/06/2020 1:49:51 AM PDT by Fai Mao
Douglas Gresham is the last person living who knew C. S. Lewis well. The son of Joy Davidman, Douglas watched his mother and “Jack” fall in love and marry. He wept with his stepfather when Joy died of cancer, and led the mourners behind the casket when husband followed wife to the graveyard.
In a recent interview, Douglas told me that many biographers have misunderstood Lewis’s marriage. Lenten Lands is Douglas’s memoir of his life at The Kilns in Oxford with his brother David, his mother, Lewis, and Lewis’s brother Warnie. A poignant and powerful account of his mother’s death as well as Lewis’s last days, the memoir recounts the intimate details of his childhood, the move from America to England, and the blossoming relationship between Jack and Joy. Contrary to prevailing theories, Douglas says, the marriage was first and foremost a meeting of two magnificent minds. “There wasn’t much in the world that my mother didn’t know about,” he told me. “There wasn’t anyone on the same level as herself until she met Jack. They just sort of clicked together. It was inevitable, I think.” According to the man who knew them best, his mother’s intimidating intelligence was one reason many of Lewis’s friends disliked her. Warnie, on the other hand, adored Joy.
(Excerpt) Read more at firstthings.com ...
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What I’ve read about Lewis has given me much hope in this life. I highly recommend his books Mere Christianity, Surprised by Joy, and A Grief Observed (by Doug Gresham).
Lewis found his perfect match in Joy, which the very possibility astounded him...and then to have cancer take her so soon after their union...
Just a little trivia. The name ‘Jack’ for CS Lewis followed him from the time that he was a little boy when his beloved dog ‘Jacksie’ died. Young Lewis announced to everyone that from then on his name would be changed to Jacksie and he must be addressed so. His mother convinced him to shorten it to the more masculine ‘Jack’ and it stuck for life.
Thank you for posting this. I never knew that about David. It certainly magnifies the enormity of Lewis’ faith and reliance upon the grace of God.
Actually A Grief Observed is the diary writings by Lewis after Joy passed. His anger at God, his sorry, and his coming to terms. It is very powerful. I read it every year
The diary was found by Gresham and Lewis’s brother. They decided to have it published
I live ALL of Lewis’s works
ping
Later.
I hope Douglas does write the story.
I agree sue the university professors that do the brain washing and the people that finance pantyfa too.
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