Becoming Mrs. Lewis

by Patti Callahan
Dakota County Library hardcover 392 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction

This book tells a fictionalized version of Joy Davidman, the woman who married C.S. Lewis. I had never heard of her before and found this book to be fascinating and somewhat challenging. We'll discuss it at book club tomorrow night, but I heard snippets of people's reactions this morning, so I'm glad I've read the book and am blogging it before we talk!

I (wrongly) assumed that the pieces of letters written between the two were from actual letters. In the author's note at the end, I found that their letters to one another were destroyed. I believe the author did plenty of research and captured the tone of each writer, but some of the things I noted might credit her more than either Lewis (whose writing I love) or Davidman.

Page 28 - in a letter from Lewis - "Along with Dante, Plato, and moorings in Classical Greek thought and of course many others. How can we know what has filtered into our work? This is precisely why we must be careful of what we read." It's interesting to think about our ideas and where they come from . . . but it's also important that we are cognizant of what we are feeding our minds.

Page 69 - Joy talking with her friend Phyllis - "What's fascinating is the way I see the world now. It's as if in believing in God I was given new eyes - the world is full of possibility and fascination. It's no longer just nature, or just beauty - it's revelation." I love the idea of seeing with new eyes. God changes us in so many ways!

Page 87 - Yes! She answered the question I'd been asking . . . "Why are you called Jack when your name is Clive?" C.S. stands for Clive Staples, but he was called Jack in this book. Apparently, he'd had a dog named Jacksie when he was a boy. He was devastated when the dog was hit and killed by a car. "I announced my name was Jack and vowed never to drive a car." Again, I'm assuming the author did her research diligently and included info like this accurately.

Page 94 - Ugh! I can relate to this bad habit . . . "We were in great trouble if we didn't finish our meals on time or finish at all. It led to this terrible habit of gobbling, which I've tried to no avail to break." Jack isn't the only one who eats too fast! I really need to work on slowing down.

Page 105 - Joy admits, "I stayed out of trouble mainly because my most pleasurable activity was reading, and you can't get in much hot water doing that." I love reading, too! Perhaps that habit kept me out of trouble as well.

Page 124 - This is a part that will be good to discuss. Jack says to Joy, "My false face. It can get in the way. I don't see God as magic; you know that. I wanted my conversion to escort some change into my life, but sadly I think I'm essentially the same. Only with God. My masks remain. Anger still bursts out before I can stop it. I built my masks readily and with such skill that I believe they lock into place when I'm unaware and nervous. It can be blisteringly difficult to show one's real face." Authenticity . . . being a new creation in Christ . . . struggling with one's old sins and weaknesses . . .

Page 177 - I love the part where Lewis talks about coming up with the idea for The Screwtape Letters! (Perhaps because I love the book itself . . . ) This is yet another place where I have hope and trust that the author did research to learn about this and isn't just making it up herself. "While the preacher spoke of temptation, my mind wandered. How would a head devil instruct his underlings on such things? Would he do it in the same but opposite manner as this preacher?"

Page 184 - Yay for moms who support their children's creativity! "No matter how long we were cooped up in the little end room of that attic, we had our paper, pencils, and paint boxes." This is from Lewis' brother Warnie. Delightful memories for old men who were boys during a difficult time.

Page 191 - Lewis talking to Joy - "If you're looking for a religion to make you happy, it wouldn't be Christianity. . . . Christianity is rightfully not here to make us comfortable or happy." This is another good section for discussion.

Page 208 - Joy connecting with her friend Belle - "When I'd first met her in college, her beauty had caused me to withdraw. Comparison was the devil of self-esteem." So true! It's discouraging to compare oneself to others who are more beautiful, talented, smarter, etc. . . . because there will always be others who are "better." I like the way the author words this.

Page 212 - Also during her time with Belle, who says she's "working on a novel about an English teacher in New York City. I've titled it Up the Down Staircase." There were SO many literary allusions in this book! This one just caught me by surprise; I know this book and have read it! Davidman sure hung out with a lot of writers. How have I never heard of her before?

Page 241 - When Joy is visiting with her friend Michal, she makes a comment about being a Christian. Michal responds, "Being a Christian isn't what most think it is - all rules and regulations. . . . It is all trust and surrender and transformation, at its best." It can be hard for unbelievers to understand the distinction, though.

Page 263 - I was a bit surprised when Joy chose to get lusty with Harry (especially as a friends with benefits, no commitment . . .) "This was a sin. I wasn't a fool; I knew the commandments of my religion. I wrote about them. Still I fell. And repented. And fell again. Maybe I always would, but somehow grace felt big enough, sturdy enough as I stood again, resolute to do better." This was disappointing, but says a lot about her.

Page 294 - "Discernment fell down on me with great weight: You must know when it's enough. I would not ask him about Ruth Pitter or his feelings for her or for anyone else. I must know when it is enough. And I must trust God - again and again I was learning and relearning to trust the Truth who had entered my sons' nursery. The rusty and decrepit habit of trusting in only myself, only abiding in my own ability to make things happen, died hard and slow." This paragraph has a lot of wisdom in it, and I sometimes have to remind myself to trust God.

Page 324 - "From that moment on, the love affair I would develop would be with my soul. He was already part of me; that much was clear. And now this would be where I would go for love - the the God in me. No more begging or pursuing or needing." I don't especially love the way she worded this, but I love the idea of looking to God almighty for the love and acceptance we need instead of looking to another human being.

I look forward to book club tomorrow, but may be the only one there who enjoyed the book! It was more scholarly than most of our recent books, but I'm okay with that!