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  • Joy

  • Poet, Seeker, and the Woman Who Captivated C. S. Lewis
  • By: Abigail Santamaria
  • Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
  • Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (13 ratings)
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Joy

By: Abigail Santamaria
Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
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Summary

The first full biography of Joy Davidman brings her out from C. S. Lewis' shadow, where she has long been hidden, to reveal a powerful writer and thinker.

Joy Davidman is known, if she is known at all, as the wife of C. S. Lewis. Their marriage was immortalized in the film Shadowlands and Lewis' memoir, A Grief Observed. Now, through extraordinary new documents as well as years of research and interviews, Abigail Santamaria brings Joy Davidman Gresham Lewis to your ears in the fullness and depth she deserves.

A poet and radical, Davidman was a frequent contributor to the communist vehicle New Masses and an active member of New York literary circles in the 1930s and '40s. Born Jewish in the Bronx, she was an atheist then a practitioner of Dianetics; she converted to Christianity after experiencing a moment of transcendent grace. A mother, a novelist, a vibrant and difficult and intelligent woman, she set off for England in 1952, determined to captivate the man whose work had changed her life.

Davidman became the intellectual and spiritual partner Lewis never expected but cherished. She helped him refine his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, and to write his novel Till We Have Faces. Their relationship - begun when Joy wrote to Lewis as a religious guide - grew from a dialogue about faith, writing, and poetry into a deep friendship and a timeless love story.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2015 Abigail Santamaria (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Joy

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I love Joy Davidman.

I'm low key mad at the author for her hard tone towards Joy. I wish she had been a little more objective. On the upside her lack of sympathy made me fall in love with Joy Davidman even more. The Lord does truly save. Joy and Jack drove that point home.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

interesting

she was an interesting if flawed person. It was also an interesting description of the post war world.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Complex and Interesting

This book gives the back story to the meeting and then marriage of Joy Gresham and CS ‘Jack’ Lewis.
People who have seen the film ‘Shadowlands’ might be surprised at this account, but hopefully better informed. I think the film ( based on a stage play) did a good job within the limitation of the medium but I’d encourage anyone whose interest has been stimulated by whatever means to listen to this account.

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