“Becoming Mrs. Lewis,” by Patti Callahan (Thomas Nelson), is a most interesting look at Joy Davidman, who began a relationship with author C.S. Lewis via letter. Looking for spiritual answers at first, Davidman, who was married at the time, never expected her correspondence to lead to stronger feelings about Lewis. She eventually went to England to meet Lewis, and the two (and his friends) hit it off, with much to discuss. It’s amazing to watch their relationship grow on the pages of Callahan’s book.
Callahan, as always, turns out a great read for us.

Linda's Book Obsession Reviews "Becoming Mrs. Lewis; The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis Thomas Nelson, Oct. 2, 2018

Patti Callan, Author of "Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis, has written a thought-provoking and intriguing novel. The Genres for this book are a combination of  Historical Fiction and Fiction. The author describes her characters as complex and complicated.

Joy Davidman, poet and writer starts questioning spiritual answers for things. She is unhappy in her marriage.  Joy starts corresponding with C.S. Lewis, the author of  "Narnia". C.S.Lewis , also known as Jack enthusiastically writes back to Joy. The two bond over letters, and Joy travels to England. Jack has been a bachelor, and lives with his brother. 

When Joy returns to America, she finds betrayal by her husband, and is determined  to take her sons back to England with her. Joy finds her inspiration to write in England, and makes friends. Often Jack and Joy read each other's work, and sometimes, Joy will type up  Jack's stories.

Joy lived at a time, where women were not as independent as today. She also voiced her opinions freely.  Joy was a mother, as well as an author and writer. This is a well written book about love of literature and seeking love. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy Historical Fiction.

This is going to be less a review than just myself explaining how I was all over the place while reading this novel. I think most people have heard of C. S. Lewis and his Narnia, but of his only wife Joy, very little. Was what drew me to this book. I liked it, I didn't like it, found it repetitive at times, interesting at others, grew frustrated with all the spirituality, philosophizing, the tone was so melancholy, not much joy to be found within. So conflicting, a good look at a woman who wanted more than her time period generally allowed a woman, but so much complaining, searching.

Well written, a woman few knew much about, a love affair that seemed somewhat unreal but was, and a spiritual searching for snswers from a most unlikely source. As i said I was all over the place as I was reading.

ARC from Netgalley

Love me or love me not, the leaves will fall
And we shall walk them down
I have my joys "Sonnet XLI" Joy Davidman

The unlikely love story of American poet Joy Davidman and C S Lewis was a captivating read. Its written as historical fiction narrated from Joy's point of view. Naturally intellectual and driven, Joy entered college at age 15, and earned her masters degree at 20. Though from a Jewish family, she became an atheist and Communist. Her marriage to first husband Bill Gresham, a writer, was troubled by his alcoholism and infidelity, and their financial struggles. These problems caused Joy to rethink her views on God and she converted to Christianity.Together they chose to examine God and religion. Joy became interested in the spiritual writings of CS Lewis and decided to write to him. Soon a regular flow of correspondence followed. Bill's interest in religion was short lived. After 2 years and period of serious illness, Joy traveled to England for a respite and left Bill and their two sons at home.

Joy's letters to Lewis had already developed into open and frank dialogue as he became her spiritual mentor, but now in England they could finally meet face to face. It becomes clear that Joy is Lewis' intellectual match. He respected her mind without jealousy or feeling threatened, something she appreciated, whereas Bill was very critical of her accomplishments. Joy feels an attraction to Lewis, but he treats her with nothing but the utmost respect as a married woman. When Joy returns to America to find her marriage even more in tatters, she has to decide how to save herself and her boys.

Though classified as Christian fiction, I did not find this preachy, but instead its a great literary love story. Yes, there is talk about God, but then, that is what drew these two authors together; their shared love of spiritual matters was the foundation of their friendship and inspiration for their writings, including Narnia. I enjoyed the appearances of some of the other literary greats of the day such as JRR Tolkien.

How does one write a review for a book like this, a book this is quite possibly the best I've read this year? How can a review even begin to give this book the proper justice?
This book has taken a piece of my heart with it when I finished it, never to be returned!
I'll admit to having never read a C.S. Lewis book and never having heard of his wife, Joy.
This book isn't just a mundane book about their life and how they met, it started out by her contacting him by letter, by the way. No, this book has a depth which may be deeper than the ocean, nor is it one dimensional. This book has so many layers, like an onion waiting to be peeled and discovered. When you think you have it all down and understand their lives separately and together you will discover your understanding is just at it's beginning. C.S. Lewis was a man who enjoyed the simple life, a good (fag) cigarette, a whiskey and simple friendships. He did not have a need for romance, he had his books and his writing. he had more of a need for a deep friendship with Joy than anything else. He came to depend on her in many aspects of his book work. An unlikely friendship that developed into true love. This book develops all the truth,tenderness and triumph you could expect in this time period, the 1950's. Joy Davidman was a woman who had a voice when women were expected not to.
Pub Date 02 Oct 2018
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson--FICTION through NetGalley. Thank you. All opinions expressed are my own.

Becoming Mrs. Lewis
by Patti Callahan
It was amazing

Why did it take me so long to pick up this title? I started it Monday. The only reason I put it down was because my Kindle had to charge (I wish I had this title in print form). I ho hummed around the house until I finally had enough battery life to continue before I had to force myself to go to sleep. Seriously, everyone in the house was asleep except me, and sleep is vital for work and such. I snuck in a few moments before going to work and straight back to my Kindle as soon as I could get to it after work. It's that good.

Joy has shared a life with Bill for quite sometime. They have two sons, Davy and Douglas. They have a picture perfect life, but it's all a facade. Bill is an emotionally abusive, alcoholic, and unfaithful husband and father. He works from home as a writer. Joy spends her days tending to the children, the house, cooking, cleaning, laundering, and mending with little time for her own passion of writing. She always falls short of being the wife that Bill expects her to be.

On one such night, when Bill has left the house on a binge and left her with a haunting call, threatening suicide, Joy finds herself broken with worry until she feels GOD around her. And in that moment, Joy is changed and hungry to know more about a GOD that she never believed in. It is during this time that she begins to delve into the works of C.S. Lewis. A mutual friend encourages Bill and Joy to write to C.S. Lewis to seek answers for their questions.

Months later, Bill and Joy receive a response, to which Bill has little interest in, and Joy can barely wait to rip open the letter. Joy and C.S. "Jack" become pen-friends. And despite his lack of interest, it is apparent that Bill resents the budding friendship.

Joy's health begins to decline, but Bill still has his expectations as to what his wife should be. But, rather than to be supportive and offer a helping hand in the day-to-day things as she recovers, Bill once again steps outside of his marriage to have his needs met...this is of course Joy's fault. And, Joy feels the shame in his faults as her own.

When Joy's cousin and children move in with the family temporarily, Joy is given the opportunity to find respite outside of the home, trusting her cousin to care for her world. And, this is where the story begins and ends and builds...can Joy find herself and become the wife and mother that is expected of her? Or, will she find that there is far more to her than Bill has ever allowed her to see?

It's a wonderful book and has quickly found a place in the favorites list.

I don't know if I can possibly put into words how much I loved this book...or how deeply it touched me. Which is almost funny because when I started reading it, I wasn't actually sure it would end up holding my interest. But once I got going, I couldn't stop. The writing itself is just so pretty...but too, I adored the layered characters. I've seen a review here or there from folks not necessarily loving the way C.S. Lewis is portrayed or feeling let down by the character of Joy. But I loved her all the more for her faults and I loved Lewis himself all the more for the glimpses we get at his own weaknesses or uncertainty. I know this is historical fiction—not necessarily fact—but it served to make real people even more real to me. And it touched my heart in a way I really didn't expect, but challenging and inspiring my own faith.

If I had the teensiest of tiniest complaints it's that sometimes it felt like the dialogue was awfully polished. I mean, these are very intellectual, academic characters reading about, but even so...there were moments were they I thought, "Could a person really be this eloquent in everyday conversation?" But again...tiny, little thing and not nearly enough for me to knock off a star.

Thanks to NetGalley for the courtesy copy of this book. I wasn't required to write a review and all thoughts are my own.

I’ve read a few of her other books but this one was totally different. This historical fiction account of how Joy Davidman Gresham met and fell in love with C.S. Lewis or Jack as she called him. Everything I read about the book had me super excited to read it. It is a long book, over 400 pages, and while I found the whole book interesting the beginning was a little slow. But the second half was so worth making it through the first half. In the first half, Joy leaves her family to go to England to rest and regain her health. As a mom I couldn’t imagine leaving my children for months at a time to go heal, write, and travel. Upon her arrival at home, Joy realizes that this is not the life for her. She’s so unhappy and feels she must go back to England and her Jack. I loved watching Joy and Jack’s relationship evolve and seeing her boys flourish at The Kilns, Jack’s home with his brother Warnie. It’s a long book, but definitely worth the read for historical fiction fans, C.S. Lewis fans, and Patti Callahan fans. Enjoy!

I wanted to read this book because I had watched "Shadowlands" many years ago and enjoyed it. This story is interesting because it was written from Joy Davidman's point of view.

Becoming Mrs. Lewis central theme is about a friendship that developed between Joy Davidson and C.S. Lewis by way of letters. Joy had converted to Christianity and had questions pertaining to her faith. She was a fan of C.S. Lewis' writing and books and sought him out to answer her questions. It was through these letters back and forth that their friendship blossomed. So much so, that she left her husband and children behind to travel to England and meet him.

I had some trouble with the story, and was left with questions. I felt ambivalent about Joy as I did not envision her to be the way she was portrayed in this book nor C.S. Lewis. I also felt the story dragged out a bit and/or long winded for my taste.

Overall, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is an entertaining story about friendship, faith and love.

***I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I wanted to read this book because I was interested in learning about CS Lewis’s wife – Joy. I did not know much about his personal life before reading this book. However I struggled with this story. I was tempted to stop reading so many times, but forced myself to keep going and finish it. I was hoping it would get better the further I got in, but it didn’t. I found the story to be slow and Joy got on my nerves. Yes she had faced some hard times and led a depressing life, but she seemed self-centered, always feeling sorry for herself and making it seem like life was against her rather than a result of some of her life choices.

I realize this is a fictionalized version of the relationship between Joy and Jack, but there were so many actions that felt inappropriate that I became annoyed with both characters and began to question the respect that I had for CS Lewis. I was surprised at the amount of swearing, drinking and sexual references that were included.

I did enjoy the descriptions given of Oxford, after recently visiting the area I found it easy to picture what was being described. I hate to give any book a negative review but I cannot recommend this book.

I first became aware for Joy Davidman Gresham Lewis when I watched the movie Shadowlands, starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger in 1993. So, as I read this book, those are the images I had of Davidman and Lewis. Starting to write this review, I looked up the real images of this couple. I'm sort of glad I didn't look at those earlier, to be honest. Although, the reality makes it all the more obvious that if these two people truly loved each other, as Callahan wants readers to believe, it was clearly because they first fell in love with each other's minds. Given the years they spent corresponding before they ever met, and the years they were friends before they married, seems right.

Callahan does a fine job of telling Davidman's story and helping readers understand what might have motivated her, how she came to leave her husband and why, and how she became the muse and invaluable aide to one of the last century's great writers. Not only that, but by telling this story, Callahan is dropping readers into a time when the tales of Narnia, as well as Middle Earth, were just being released to the world. It's sometimes hard to imagine a time when The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of The Rings (J. R. R. Tolkien) trilogy weren't classics, but new works just being putting into readers' hands. Lewis and Tolkien (whom Lewis called "Tollers") were fast friends; in fact, Lewis ran with a very well-known literary group. But then Davidman was no slouch in that department either, befriending science fiction mega star Arthur Clarke during her time in London.

The more the book honed in, though, on the relationship between Jack and Joy, the more attached to the characters I became. In Callahan's tale of their time together, Davidman realizes early on that she is in love with Lewis; but he has to nearly lose her to be willing to let his feelings be realized. And I so badly wanted him to do that because it was clear that he was a man capable of deep feelings, as demonstrated by his devotion to his brother and his fondness for Davidman's sons. Callahan takes the readers through a time of great sadness but avoids leaving her readers in tears by carefully moving the end of the book to a place of looking back.

This book comes in at just over 400 pages long; it could have been cut 50 pages or so and not so often gotten lost in rambling that often had me setting aside the book. It's a shame because it's otherwise a very interesting story that touched my emotions without being maudlin, a very sweet love story about two people who found each other when neither of them expected to find "the one."

“Here the whole world (stars, water, air,
And field, and forest, as they were
Reflected in a single mind)…”   
~epitaph for Joy (Davidman) Lewis by C.S. Lewis

When I first began reading Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis, by Patti Callahan, I was uncertain whether I wanted to continue. Perhaps it was because this book is written as a first-person narrative instead of in third-person, as I had initially anticipated. Or perhaps it was because I identified a little too closely with young Helen Joy Davidman, whose parents expected perfection, yet she always seems to fall just a little short.

Fortunately, I did not give up on this book. I was able to push past my initial reservations and continue reading. And I am glad that I did because Joy Davidman’s story is one of angst and adventure, humbleness and brilliance, doubt and faith, and a deep, abiding love between two people.

The love between Joy and Jack (C.S. Lewis’ nickname) is amplified because of their mutual devotion of God. Both Davidman and Lewis experienced an epiphany at low points in their lives. It was the grace of God that lifted them up and sustained them from that point on. Their spiritual beliefs prompted a penpalship which slowly grew into something much, much more.

Each chapter is prefaced with an excerpt from Lewis’ or Davidman’s works. In fact, the entire book reads like poetry, as if Joy Davidman or C.S. Lewis themselves had penned the piece. Its language is lavish and luscious. A feast for the soul, I savored every word.

***
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this book! The writing was absolutely beautiful and the faith-based questions that Joy and Jack discussed had me thinking for days. As a lover of all things C.S. Lewis, it was fascinating to learn about his life and writing.

As a wife and mother, I could relate to Joy in many levels. One quote that struck me as poignant, especially as I often resort to cleaning when I’m trying to overcompensate in my own life was when Joy said, “I could have kept on the way I was going, empty and jaundiced, sick and desolate of soul. I could have tried even harder to erase the stench of whiskey from my alcoholic husband, to scrub the floors cleaner, to quiet my troubled heart. Of course I could have, but what would it have cost me?” The sacrifices we make can have lasting effects, as Joy experienced in her first marriage.

The only caveat I’ll add, and my reason for giving the book 4 instead of 5 stars, is that it made me sad to read about Joy’s years of loving Jack, when her love was not reciprocated. She embodies such strength as a wife, mother, poet and writer, but as a lover she came across as weak. I also have trouble idealizing their love story when he made her feel so rejected. His emphasis on preferring blondes was cringeworthy and could have been a chapter out of He’s Just Not That Into You. I’m so glad they eventually found happiness, and their friendship was incredibly meaningful throughout. I just wished it were different earlier in their relationship.

FYI: My amazing sister-in-law, who reads Lewis’ writing as often as I, has already reviewed this book and has a beautifully stated review of this book as well!

This looked like an interesting story and at times it was. I found it to be a little disjointed, skipping around. Joy's life was a challenge and I'm glad she did find some answers that she was looking for. I knew nothing about the life of C S Lewis or Joy so this story was enlightening. The author's note at the end was appreciated.

Patti Callahan’s riveting novel, “Becoming Mrs. Lewis”, will leave the reader enthralled and ready to delve deeper in to the lives of C.S. Lewis and his wife, Joy Davidman. Repeatedly in the story I found myself on google checking for more info and when the story ended I wanted even more! The love story of the two was an amazing journey of two people who found God and then found friendship and then found love in each other. The story takes us from the time Joy first realizes that God is real until her death. We are there with her when she first reaches out to Lewis, whom she calls Jack, and when she travels to England and meets him the first time. We are there when she discovers her first husbands infidelity and we feel her hurt at his betrayal. When she brings her children to London and they live there, we experience her life with them and Jack and Jack’s brother Warnie. We feel the palpable love they all share with each other. There are so many facets to love and this book and the relationship between Joy and Jack explore them and touch them and you feel each smile and each tear. I have long loved to read C.S. Lewis’ books and it was fascinating to discover the woman behind the man. I highly recommend this book!
I received a free copy of this story from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I was very intrigued by the title and looked forward to reading this book. The story itself was interesting but the book was not to my taste at all. I did enjoy the ending the most, the story was less rambling then.

First, as a Christian book, there was swearing, drinking to excess, sex all inappropriate. Second, the story was too rambling. It was done in the first person with a lot of her letters and thoughts without much action. It also jumped years and you didn't realize it immediately. I skipped a lot of pages and did not feel like I missed anything. The story could have been told in about half the pages it is now. Third, it needs editing. This will be addressed in the final version I hope as I read an ARC version. Last, and this is more on a personal side, I did not see true conversion in Joy until the very end though she claims to have been saved/converted years before but her behavior is not that of a Christian in my view.

I give this 2 stars as some may enjoy the book, I did not. I would not recommend this to my friends.

In full disclosure, I was given an ARC version of the book upon my request to read and review. The review is totally my own opinion.

After a recent surge of personal interest in the Chronicles of Narnia, I was really looking forward to reading Becoming Mrs. Lewis. However, it wasn't the book for me. The author writes beautifully (I'd like to learn some of her secrets) but the book itself was quite uninteresting and left me depressed instead of uplifted. Joy Davidman led, in many ways, a depressing life and that translated into this book. We didn't get to see much (if any) of her happiness with Lewis - only her struggles and failures. There was very little joy in this book (ironically enough).

I also found the amount of inappropriate content too much for a Christian book. Some swearing (mostly the h-word) and sexual references also contributed to my negative opinion of this book. And I don't agree with many of Joy's choices, so there's that as well.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a thoroughly captivating read for so many reasons. First of all, who can resist a real-life love story? Especially when it involves someone as beloved as C.S. Lewis. Secondly, while our life circumstances vary widely, I whole-heartedly identified with Joy’s passionately intellectual personality, always seeking answers and thriving on stimulating discussion. It felt like an immense privilege to ‘sit’ with Joy and Jack and listen in as they discussed matters of life, faith, friendship, and love through the ten years they knew one another. Thirdly, Joy’s story was compelling in itself as she struggled with her writing career, an unhappy marriage, and poor health.

I didn’t really know anything of Joy’s story before picking up this book, so perhaps I don’t speak with much authority when I say this, but the story seemed very well researched, and I enjoyed the author’s notes detailing this at the end of the book. Callahan’s characterisation was masterful, vividly capturing every facet of Joy’s emotional journey: her internal conflict as her friendship with Jack flourished—via correspondence and eventually in person—while her marriage foundered; her later frustration and confusion as Jack “pressed his heart and mind as close to me as skin to bone” even as he remained unwaveringly committed to a chaste philia love between them; and her eventual realisation that she had spent her entire life seeking love in the outside world when the truth had been there all along: she was beloved of God.

It’s an affecting, thought-provoking story all the way to its poignant end, which left me grasping for tissues and desperate to read everything else ever written about these two. If you're at all a fan of C.S. Lewis, this is a must-read!

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Such a great story that I just couldn't put down.

If you are looking for a great Historical Fiction read, I do highly recommend this book.

When Joy Davidman Gresham had a spiritual experience convincing her there was a God, she wrote to British author C.S. Lewis looking for answers. What followed was a correspondence that would become a meeting of minds and eventually a marriage of hearts.

Six months after the first letter was sent, C.S. Lewis responded. At the time, Joy was trapped in a tumultuous marriage with Billy Gresham. Like herself, Billy was a writer, but one who resorted to alcohol and affairs to numb his anger at not selling manuscripts. His work always took precedent over Joy's, and he expected her to give up her intellectual dreams in order to be the perfect housewife, taking care of their two boys and putting dinner on the table. As their marriage went from bad to worse, Joy's health began to deteriorate. She began to take refuge from the horrors of everyday life in the letters she regularly received from the Oxford don, seventeen years her senior. Eventually, she took an extended trip to England to recuperate, to do research, and to meet her mentor, C.S. Lewis.

In this exquisite novel, Patti Callahan captures the great divide between Joy, a Jewish New Yorker, and "Jack," an aging English professor. She also shows the meeting of minds, the yearning of hearts, and just how influential Joy was on Lewis' work. Many obstacles conspired to keep the two apart (not the least of which was Joy's divorce), and anyone who has seen Shadowlands knows that the ending of the book is destined to be a real tear-jerker.

The story alternates between Joy's first person narrative and excerpts of letters, mostly those exchanged by her and Lewis. The flow of the book was seamless, and I could not discern whether these letters were original or fictitious (a question which the Author's Note answered for me at the end of the book). I recognized many quotes from Lewis' works in the dialogue, and I came away from the book wanting to dive back into his fiction and his philosophical writings.

This book highlights the fact that Joy Davidman was Lewis' intellectual equal, and that he highly prized both her own work and her contributions to his work. As with all fictionalized biographies, I am sure some liberties have been taken, but nevertheless, this book resonates as a beautifully told love story and an homage to both the author of Narnia and the woman who moved from philia to eros in his affections.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.