Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan

 genre: historical fiction

For Joy Davidsman, words are the answer to every problem.  As a writer, Joy knows that the perfect words are the key to any argument and the magical mirror to display all the inner beauty of her thoughts.  Being a writer in the 1950s, though, while also trying to be a mother to two young boys and the wife of a very demanding and gruff man - there is no magic key to solve this problem.  When Joy begins a correspondence with celebrated author C. S. Lewis (Jack), she begins to learn what's possible within a real friendship and as her eyes begin to open, her heart acknowledges that it needs MORE than what her current life is able to give her.  Joy needs to be brave and figure out how to get it.

Okay, this book is a treasure.  It's slow moving and super slow burn but it really engaged me.  I cared about Joy.  I felt her yearnings to be something out in the world AND to be everything to her people at home.  I fell in love with the England she knew, I was so proud of her when she took her life by the reins, I wanted so much for her happiness.  This is the first time I've read anything about her or about Lewis's private life so it was all a bit of a revelation, especially having read so man of Lewis's books before.  I loved Joy's poetry and how sue used words to process her life and the love that she could do nothing about.  In no way is it a typical love story - but a love story it is by the end my heart felt so full for these two people and the world they made for themselves.  My only complaint is that sometimes I did a little skimming when Joy and Jack would super pontificate about spiritual matters but other than that, this was really solid historical fiction told from a woman's perspective, exactly as I like it.

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