Joy and Jack at home at 'The Kilns'C.S.Lewis "met" a bright American woman whose penetrating, thoughtful analysis impressed him. Joy Davidman Gresham was capable of matching wits with the famous writer - a skill not many people could claim. A Jewish communist, she had converted to Christianity largely on the basis of Jack’s analytical writings.
At first Jack Lewis did not have a romantic interest in Joy. She was married, had two children, and lived in America. But when Joy’s husband wanted a divorce so he could marry another woman, Joy returned to England permanently. And her friendship with Jack deepened.
As a favor to his friend, Jack married Joy in a civil ceremony so she could remain in Britain. Almost simultaneously, Joy learned the worst possible news: She had terminal cancer. It was 1956, the year the last of the Narnian books was published.
Jack’s relationship with Joy continued to thrive. Sick, nearly unto death, Joy married Jack again in a Christian ceremony. The wedding took place in December 1956, at her bedside in Wingfield Hospital.
Although doctors had predicted Joy’s illness would soon end her life, she experienced a remarkable remission throughout 1957. She moved into ‘The Kilns’and, by the summer of 1958, was well enough to take a 10-day trip to one of Jack’s favorite places in the world. The Old Inn at Crawfordsburn in County Down, where Jack had wonderful memories from his youth, now became a place he shared with his wife.
Life at home for Jack and Joy was precious, and they drew closer during long hours spent in their drawing-room and sitting room. But their time was short-lived, despite Joy’s miraculous remission. By the spring of 1960, her cancer returned. She did not have much time left.
Able to take one last trip together, Jack and Joy went to Greece in April of 1960. Joy’s health continued to deteriorate and, on July 13, she died at the age of 45.
Inconsolable, Jack Lewis turned to the activity he could count on to help him think through the difficult issues of life: his writing Pouring out his anguish on paper, he created a book that has comforted millions for nearly four decades: A Grief Observed.
Jack lived three years longer than Joy. He died at nearly the exact moment (5:30 p.m. London time) that President Kennedy was shot in Dallas (November 22, 1963). The story of the relationship between Jack and Joy was made into a stage play and later a film called Shadowlands starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. The film is a beautiful evocation of the joy and the heartbreak of their years together.
At first Jack Lewis did not have a romantic interest in Joy. She was married, had two children, and lived in America. But when Joy’s husband wanted a divorce so he could marry another woman, Joy returned to England permanently. And her friendship with Jack deepened.
As a favor to his friend, Jack married Joy in a civil ceremony so she could remain in Britain. Almost simultaneously, Joy learned the worst possible news: She had terminal cancer. It was 1956, the year the last of the Narnian books was published.
Jack’s relationship with Joy continued to thrive. Sick, nearly unto death, Joy married Jack again in a Christian ceremony. The wedding took place in December 1956, at her bedside in Wingfield Hospital.
Although doctors had predicted Joy’s illness would soon end her life, she experienced a remarkable remission throughout 1957. She moved into ‘The Kilns’and, by the summer of 1958, was well enough to take a 10-day trip to one of Jack’s favorite places in the world. The Old Inn at Crawfordsburn in County Down, where Jack had wonderful memories from his youth, now became a place he shared with his wife.
Life at home for Jack and Joy was precious, and they drew closer during long hours spent in their drawing-room and sitting room. But their time was short-lived, despite Joy’s miraculous remission. By the spring of 1960, her cancer returned. She did not have much time left.
Able to take one last trip together, Jack and Joy went to Greece in April of 1960. Joy’s health continued to deteriorate and, on July 13, she died at the age of 45.
Inconsolable, Jack Lewis turned to the activity he could count on to help him think through the difficult issues of life: his writing Pouring out his anguish on paper, he created a book that has comforted millions for nearly four decades: A Grief Observed.
Jack lived three years longer than Joy. He died at nearly the exact moment (5:30 p.m. London time) that President Kennedy was shot in Dallas (November 22, 1963). The story of the relationship between Jack and Joy was made into a stage play and later a film called Shadowlands starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. The film is a beautiful evocation of the joy and the heartbreak of their years together.
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On grieving the death of his wife
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How far have I got? Just as far, I think, as a widower of another sort who would stop, leaning on his spade, and say in answer to our inquiry, 'Thank'ee. Mustn't grumble. I do miss her something dreadful. But they say these things are sent to try us.' We have come to the same point; he with his spade, and I, who am not now much good at digging, with my own instrument. But of course one must take 'sent to try us' the right way. God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn't. In this trial he makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a house of cards. His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down.
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~C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed (1961)
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