Shadowlands: A Drama by William Nicholson

Shadowlands, although not written by C. S. Lewis, was excellent! I read it over spring break, and I really really enjoyed it. It is a play written by William Nicholson that depicts Lewis' life, from when he meets Joy (his future wife) until her death later in life. It was a heart-wrenching look into the life of a man that up until now I only knew as a dedicated author and intellectual genius.

I know the play was based on the actual life of Lewis, but one thing I'm very curious about is how much of the dialogue is accurate, or how close to real life it comes. One of my favorite aspects of this play was the periodical speeches that Lewis would make standing in front of the audience. At the very end of the play, one of the last lines Lewis says is, "The pain, now. is part of the happiness, then. That's the deal." I think that is a really beautiful concept. In order to really partake of happiness we have to first understand pain. If you go through your whole life never feeling hurt, never getting sad, never feeling loss or pain, than how can you truly understand what happiness is.

We also watched the movie Shadowlands this evening. I thought they did a very good job of depicting the story, very close to what I saw as I read the play. The only part I really didn't like in the movie was when Joy got angry with Lewis and yelled at him, saying they in fact weren't friends. I don't recall that happening in the script, and I wasn't a big fan. Overall though the film was a very beautiful portrayal of one of the most difficult trials a person can go through in this life.

A Grief Observed

This was a heart-wrenching, honest portrayal of the pain that C. S. Lewis went through after the death of his wife Joy. A lot of times people think that the deepest kind of love comes from having gotten married young and spending a lifetime growing and learning together. While this definitely strengthens a relationship, its not the only way sincere love can form. When I first started taking this class, I had no idea that Lewis had ever even been married. And when I learned that he hadn't married until later in life, I figured that it must have been a marriage more of convenience than of true love. 

This book pulled down and demolished any of those thoughts I had. Lewis is so open and raw with his thoughts that it caused me to cringe at the thought of the pain he was going through. One thing that I was really impressed by was how through describing his own pain, Lewis was able to remind me of every single time I had had similar thoughts or feelings. 

I love his opening line, "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear." He put what I was feeling so perfectly into words, that I was shocked. I think a big part of grief is suddenly feeling alone, and not knowing what the future will bring. It is the fear of the unknown that sometimes hurts the most. Fear of being alone forever, fear that life is never going to get better, fear that you will never be the same person you were before, that instead you will live as a shadow of your former self.

I really liked this book. It is the first time that you really see Jack Lewis. Rather than C. S. Lewis the author, you see Jack the man. And nothing is hidden, it is all him, raw emotions, writhing in pain and trying to make sense of a broken world.