Patti Callahan’s historical fiction novel, “Becoming Mrs. Lewis,” is the beautifully brilliant telling of the life of Joy Davidman Gresham, the woman who would one day capture the heart and mind of C.S. Lewis.
“Becoming Mrs. Lewis” reveals the life of Joy — an author, converted Jew, former atheist and ex-Communist — in four parts plus a prologue from her childhood visits to the lions at the Bronx Zoo: her life in America with first husband Bill Gresham, an abusive and philandering man who was also an author, and the time she began a correspondence with Lewis to seek answers about her conversion experience; 1952 England, where she meets Lewis, and seeks healing for her ailing body, mind and soul; a return to America in 1953, where she gets the fortitude to break from her husband, who is now in a relationship with her cousin; and England starting in November 1953, where, as she puts it, “Life is ahead” and her relationship with Lewis grows.
Callahan does an amazing job of taking her research and bringing us into the life of Joy and Jack, as his friends called him, and developing a beautiful story of how their friendship and eventually love grew, and how they faced Joy’s cancer at the height of their love. Sadly, their letters to each other have been destroyed, but the author does a great job of recreating how their letters and dialogues may have read, and the thoughts and feelings behind them. As a matter fact, this whole novel reads as if Joy herself had written it.
Joy’s story is so well written you will feel as if you are walking along beside her on her journey. This story takes you deep into her heart and soul. She is such a strong character, but yet has very real flaws, fears and weaknesses.
Besides deeply engrossing the reader into Joy’s life, Callahan has such a beautifully descriptive way of writing at times: “The line of poetry was blown away by his voice, a fragile dandelion pod now empty and scattered;” “…the peace of that trip had fallen away like a waterfall, down a river far gone;” and “The plumbing, ancient and groaning like one of Jack’s fictional frozen statues come to life.”
This book is filled with so many goodies, life lessons if you will, like why do we wait so long to seek God; seeking answers only God can provide; uncertainty is the cross God always gives us in life; dismissal versus acceptance; we ache for what’s familiar when there is something better out there; God has enough grace for us all; faith, prayers and belief; and being a Christian is not about rules and regulations but trust, surrender and transformation.
Love, of course, is a huge theme of “Becoming Mrs. Lewis” — love of God, love of one’s self, and love for fellow man.
Another major theme includes trusting God when we need to be brave, and the power that we find in that trust. As Joy tells a friend: “Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow. … What if I trust that command? What on earth would become of me if I should ever grow brave?”
One final major theme that swirls throughout this novel is revealing our true selves, our real face. As Joy tells Jack: “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.”
As you travel with Joy, each chapter begins with a quote from one of the writers, mostly from Joy’s recently discovered sonnets, revealing even more of her heart.
“Becoming Mrs. Lewis” is, quite simply, a fantastic book. Probably one of the best for 2018. As a lover of C.S. Lewis, particularly all things Narnia, I loved peeking behind the curtain to see into the mind of the brilliant writer, and into the mind of his muse — a woman I knew a little about, but not a lot.
Five stars out of five.
Thomas Nelson provided this complimentary copy for my honest, unbiased review.