A Grief Observed

To this day nobody, in my opinion, has encapsulated the feeling of deep loss as well as Lewis does in this book. It is so deep and so stunningly honest. One line alone sums up the beauty and gravity of this book and the event it discusses: "Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything." Pure beauty on a page.

Like reading a grieving man’s thoughts out loud. His mind asks questions impossible to have definitive answers. Having lost my wife to the horror of Alzheimer’s and having to observe for a few years the unstoppable and undeniable ravages of a slow decay of her mind and eventually her body. I grieved her pending loss, and her final breath. No life left in that body that held her spirit. Mr Lewis was being brave by being vulnerable. We share a common state of unbelievably painful grief. I take heart that I am not alone, as my scrambled mind experiences the absence of my beloved. God says we are to give the thanks in all of things. Without His Spirit, I find it difficult to give the thanks. But I give it my human effort, and The Spirit takes my faith, as small as a mustard seed, and moves me along. Thank you Mr Lewis, for sharing your deep grief with us all

This book has been immensely helpful. I am in the midst of my own bereavement. My husband of 54 years passed away a month and a half ago. C S Lewis has helped me recognize and understand the grieving process. And its cyclical nature. I got the audio book as well because it is sometimes easier to listen that to read. I recommend it to anyone who has lost a beloved spouse. It points out the light at the the end of the dark tunnel of grief.