Surprised by Joy cover art

Surprised by Joy

The Shape of My Early Life

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Surprised by Joy

By: C. S. Lewis
Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $16.99

Buy Now for $16.99

About this listen

In the closest thing we have to an autobiography, C. S. Lewis, an unfailingly honest and perceptive observer of self, here shares the story of his personal spiritual journey. With characteristic candor and insight, he describes how his “search for joy” led him from the conventional Christianity of his childhood to a youthful atheism, and finally back to an assured Christianity compatible with his formidable intellect. With no pretense, Lewis describes his early schooldays, his experiences in the trenches during World War I, and his undergraduate life at Oxford, where he reasoned his way to God. Lewis’ “surprise” holds continuing interest not only for admirers of his work but for any modern seeker concerned with the compatibility of the rational and the spiritual.

©1955 C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. (P)2000 Blackstone Audiobooks Art & Literature Authors Biographies Christianity
All stars
Most relevant
To get to know someone who has faced the truth of themselves and done somthing about it.

The story of a life through articulate honest eyes

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
language was colourful yet hard to track. foavorite part was the last 3 chapters capturing his muse about his conversation..

so dense itbis hard to follow

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was first published in the 1950s and its style has a 50s feel to it.

Solid

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
To hear the people and friends he speaks of an know so many of them were important to the literary and intellectual world. This is a very honest telling of his early education and life at school. To understand the sordid though excepted nature of public schools life and know that so many men survived school as they survived war never to speak of either again. I am thankful for the work Mr Lewis has left behind and hope many will chance upon his books and the wisdom within. Why his books aren’t in every school curriculum is a travesty.

A truly interesting first act of CS Lewis

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fantastically read. Dramatic and engaging, plus appreciated the accent. Very pleasant to listen to. thanks

Great voice

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.