Given to me after Emma's birth it was one of the greatest books I could have read at that time. I still go to it often full of so much wisdom and raw emotion. ( )

Got a strong feeling I’m gonna be re-reading this every couple of years for the rest of my life. ( )

Extraordinary. Would read again. ( )

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A Grief Observed was the first book that I was able to read after my beloved cat of 19 years passed away. I knew that it wouldn't be exactly applicable to my situation, but I was looking for a story of grief from a Christian's point of view.

Some sections of the memoir worked very well for me, while others (particularly Chapter 2, when C.S. Lewis has lost his faith) do not. I found Chapter 3, where a great healing is taking place, to be the most helpful as I also learn how to heal. The evolution of Lewis' grief is what I think most people will find useful in this book, as it may give other readers hope that we will come out of the depths eventually.

The honesty of this memoir impresses me. It shows such bravery for this Christian man to display his loss of faith so openly to the reader. If nothing else, A Grief Observed showed me quite clearly that I did not lose my faith during the time of my own grieving. That did give me a significant amount of comfort.

The version that I read has a lovely and honest introduction by Madeline L'Engle. ( )