A Grief Observed

Rating:
Summary: Doing the pain.
Review: It can be a little unsettling to see one of the paragons of the Christian faith come to terms with grief by asking if God is a cosmic sadist. But it is ultimately comforting to see that even a man that seemed to have all the answers asked the same questions that the rest of us ask and at the end of it, come through with an even stronger faith in God.

Lewis goes through all the problems that come with grief and loss. A sense of isolation, annoyance at the pat answers ("They're in a better place.."), and wondering where God is. He expresses a sense of worry at forgetting his wife and being forced to remember her only through inadequate picture albums.
Towards the end he rallys, however, and comes to terms with pain.

Personally, I am glad the Lewis had the courage to write this book, albeit with a penname. Who would of thought that loss isn't the end?

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant man revealed at his deepest level
Review: This is my first CS Lewis book and this man is true intellectual giant. His train of thought throughout this book is brilliant. He is in such pain and asks the right questions at the right times. He not only questions God the way we all would question Him but he comes back to God as the answer.

I think that everyone who is grieving the loss of someone very special to them NEEDS to read this book.

Rating:
Summary: What Grief is Like
Review: Shadowlands has long been one of my favorite movies, so I've always wanted to read the book that inspired. A Grief Observed was certainly no disappointment. A Grief Observed is a powerful portrait of a man torn apart and even away from God by grief, but he learns to handle the grief to come even closer to God. The emotion displayed is powerful as is the intellect.

I'm am currently a college student who (thank God) has not yet had to suffer as much pain and loneliness as is dispayed here. I know that at this point in my life I cannot really relate to this book. But I am so thankful that A Grief Observed will be here to turn to when I do have to live through this type of situation. It is such an inspiration to have this example of a faithful man fighting through despair. I know that this is a book that I will keep with me throughout my life.

Rating:
Summary: An insight into emotional trauma by someone who is there.
Review: A Grief Observed is probably one of the most emotionally gratifying books I have ever read. Famed apologist C.S. Lewis lays bare the heartache, anger, and guilt that come with and after the sorrow of an immense loss and anyone who takes the journey with him will learn much about this brief yet eternal path we all must walk at one time or another. An essential in any library, highest recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: An honest look at grieving--a must have
Review: I have to admit, when I first started this book I was a little surprised. Wasn't this CS Lewis, the man who could take the most complicated issues of religion and explain them in a way that was simple yet easy to understand? Wasn't this the man who had an answer for everything? Didn't he have some kind of impenetrable armor? I guess not.

One thing became quickly apparent--Lewis was human. I cannot believe how incredibly candid, how open and honest he was. The death of his wife hurt him deeply and shook his faith, and he was man enough to admit it. The beginning of the book is filled with doubt and questions, yet slowly you can see the change take place. Lewis is rediscovering his faith, and is slowly coming to terms with his wife's death. It's beautiful.

Lewis obviously published this book because he wanted to help others through experiences such as his. He wanted this to be comforting, and comforting it is. He explores grief and loss like no other man can, and the result is this priceless little gem that helps us remember that it's okay to grieve.

I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to his wife. By releasing this book, he showed the world just how much she meant to him. I cannot praise this book enough. With this short work, Lewis proves he really does have an answer (or at least the power to come up with one) for everything.

Rating:
Summary: His greatest book.
Review: There are two kinds of people in the world: those who are in grief and those who haven't got a clue. If you're among the latter, I suggest you get down on your knees and thank God, Good Fortune, or whatever you happen to believe for your blessed ignorance. And by all means keep telling yourself your own death is a faraway thing, it'll help you through many a bad night.

This book is the howling of a poet in anguish. Perhaps the most powerful journal ever written. The jottings of an acclaimed pop apologist who forsakes lame platitudes from well meaning friends and pat answers from the religion he once championed.

"It is hard to have patience with people who say 'there is no death' or 'death doesn't matter'. There is death. And whatever is matters. And whatever happens has consequences, and it and they are irrevocable and irreversible. You might as well say that birth does not matter. I look up at the night sky. Is anything more certain than in all those times and spaces if I were allowed to search them I should nowhere find her face, her voice, her touch? She died. She is dead. Why is the word so hard to learn?"

Amen.

At the risk of sounding condescending towards theologogical speculation, it is one thing to read the metaphysical musings of a Plato, Thomas Aquinas or Martin Buber and quite another to read of the torments of a Socrates, a Joan of Arc, or a Victor Frankl.

Here, C.S the theologist disappears and C.S. the husband comes forth. A magnificent work of honesty and courage.

Rating:
Summary: Brief but powerful
Review: C.S. Lewis's "A Grief Observed" is a brief book -- only about 70 pages-- but it contains some of the best metaphors for faith I have ever read. Like his challenging work "The Problem of Pain," this book is unsparing in its belief that a good God can will awful things on people. Like death, for instance. Why would an all-powerful God allow people to suffer and die, especially those well before their prime? Lewis went through this questioning himself when his wife died, and his journal of questions and answers fill the pages of this book.

How can God remain silent when the ill cry out in pain? Lewis compares God to a surgeon performing open heart surgery. The doctor, knowing best the full process required, can't relieve pain at every cry, or he would never complete the process, and the intended purpose of the pain would never come to fruition. This is a pretty unsparing description -- I wonder how many people in grief feel comfort reading such things. This is where faith comes in -- if you believe that the end result of pain and death is resurrection, and you trust in God's plan, you can find comfort knowing that every death is part of the plan.

Not an easy concept to grapple with -- I'm glad I read this book, but I can't help but flinch a bit at Lewis's viewpoint. It is lucid, poetic, and erudite -- and yet I still find myself uncomfortable with a God who would bring suffering on innocent people.

Rating:
Summary: Two books that helped me
Review: I too thought I had great faith and discovered it was badly shaken when I lost someone close to me. I had prayed and still my loved one died. God had never let me down before. Now I realize God never left me and He has been my greatest comfort. C. S. Lewis shares his feelings so openly that we all can understand his pain and we can heal through knowing it is OK to grieve.
I am grateful that God is full of mercy and love.
I am using Write From Your Heart, A Healing Grief Journal, a Christian book to work through my own grief. I have healed a great deal and continue to each day.
May you all find peace in Him.

Rating:
Summary: Grief work
Review: No matter how hard we try we all have to do our grief work. There is no way to bypass it though we may try. C. S.Lewis shared his grief passage with us in a way that reaches the heart.
I too am traveling through grief after the loss of my Dad and I found his book healing. I also am doing my own grief work by journaling in a Christian book, Write from Your Heart, A Healing Grief Journal.
I have a long way to go but I've also healed a great deal and can look back and smile and rejoice in the memories.

Rating:
Summary: A Grief Well-Observed
Review: 'The Lord Gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.' The Book of Job 1:21
(I am not sure Lewis meant it, but 'observed' also has religious connotations - observing a time of mourning. The ancient traditions were rooted in emotional and spiritual truth.)
It is only through great trial and long experience that anyone can say those words, understand their wisdom, and mean them. I can't really explain it to anyone. When I was twelve my best friend died of a congenital heart defect. The experience has shaped who I am, and my faith. For a long time I did not think I would ever even smile again. I knew few other people of any age who had experienced loss. Death is senseless and cruel - I was further reminded of that when a fellow college student was killed in a tragic accident last week. Things like that, like the September 11 attacks can bring back the old pain.
Anyone who has experienced grief will truly appreciate this work. It is raw, fresh emotion, a play by play of what grief is at first. But it ends a little further up that road, when one can see that life will go on. Grief does not ever really end. Love is dangerous, to love someone is to risk that loss. But as this book attests God never leaves YOU despite appearances. He is stronger than our most raging emotion and doubt and can take our questions and pain. 'For he was a man acquainted with grief, accustomed to sorrow.' Isaiah 52:3
The book is highly recommended, I only wish I could have read and understood it when I was younger.