He wonders whether Helen is still suffering in the afterlife because before her death, Lewis did not imagine that people went straight to heaven, and while wonderful, she was not a “perfected saint” and thus, had “stains to be scoured” (41).

Lewis wants Helen back “as an ingredient in the restoration of my past,”but realizes that may not be best for her: “having once got through death, to come back and then, at some later date, have all her dying to do over again?” (41). Helen’s death forced him to confront the reality of suffering in the world, collapsing his “house of cards” (38).Ĭomparing his grief to his wife’s physical pain, Lewis criticizes his self-preoccupation: “what sort of lover am I to think so much about my affliction and so much less about hers?” (41). Now a modern classic, A Grief Observed has offered solace and insight to countless readers.

In it he finds again the way back to life. In it he freely confesses his doubts, his rage, and his awareness of human frailty. Lewis admits he always knew intellectually that suffering was inevitable, and “had warned myself not to reckon on worldly happiness,” but discovers that pain and loss are much different in concrete, lived experience than in the abstract (36). To defend himself against the loss of belief in God, Lewis wrote this journal, an eloquent statement of rediscovered faith. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. He decides to switch to a rational approach to managing his grief in an effort to escape from his overwhelming feelings. Note Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022.

A grief observed online