A Grief Observed

By: C. S. Lewis

Narrated by: Ralph Cosham

Length: 1 hr and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Written after his wife's tragic death as a way of surviving the "mad midnight moments", A Grief Observed is C.S. Lewis's honest reflection on the fundamental issues of life, death, and faith in the midst of loss. This work contains his concise, genuine reflections on that period: "Nothing will shake a man, or at any rate a man like me, out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring out the truth. Only under torture does he discover it himself."

This is a beautiful and unflinchingly honest record of how even a stalwart believer can lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and how he can gradually regain his bearings.

©1961 C.S. Lewis Pte., Ltd. (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A very personal, anguished, luminous little book about the meaning of death, marriage, and religion." (Publishers Weekly)

Honest exploration of grief

Would you listen to A Grief Observed again? Why?

I have listened to it several times, catching new things each time.

Who was your favorite character and why?

CS Lewis of course. He is brave and candid.

What about Ralph Cosham’s performance did you like?

I appreciated his foreign accent, made me imagine CS Lewis was speaking directly to me.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Through the valley of the shadow of death.......

Any additional comments?

A must-listen for anyone grieving a spouse.

A Grief Observed

Any additional comments?

I have listened to this book over and over since my husband's death two months ago. I keep it on my phone to call up at any time, while driving or startled awake at 4 AM. It gives me peace whenever I am feeling overcome with grief, which is most of the time. So much of Lewis' raw emotion at the loss of his beloved wife is exactly what I may be feeling at a particular moment. Unlike many of his books for adults, Lewis is not cerebral in this long essay on grief. He is a husband who misses his wife terribly, is profoundly sad at her death and questions his long-held beliefs in a loving God.

A Grief Observed has helped me stay sane. It helps me to get out of bed in the morning. It helps me to understand that I am not crazy. And it gives me hope that in time the pain of grief will lessen somewhat.

Timely message for those having to go thru a loss

Very well read, timeless message of hope for those dealing with the loss of a loved one

Intriguing venture into the grieving mind

CS Lewis does an incredible job of exploring his own grief of the death of his wife while reaffirming he always has something to look forward to.

fitting

great book. narrator is a bit bland but fitting. in this book Lewis tells his story of loss and his struggles with God

Lewis at his best

His prose is impeccable, his sincerity refreshing. Observing his grappling with pain gives us the courage and strength to grapple with our own. Fantastic book. Also, Cosham is superb.

Lovely

I enjoyed this book. First Chapter is intro. Would recommend. Love CS lewis books.

A Grief Observed

I found C. S. Lewis to be very open, vulnerable and transparent on dealing with the grief of a broken heart in this book.

Excellent!

The narrator's voice was perfect for a greater experience of the book with the accent giving the 'flavor' of authenticity.

Grief is hard

I needed the honesty of this text after experiencing my father in end stage kidney failure.