A Grief Observed
by Lewis, C S
“A Grief Observed comprises the reflections of the great scholar and Christian on the death of his wife after only a few short years of marriage. Painfully honest in its dissection of his thoughts and feelings, this is a book that details his paralyzing grief, bewilderment and sense of loss in simple and moving prose.
Invaluable as an insight into the grieving process just as much as it is as an exploration of religious doubt, A Grief Observed will continue to offer its consoling insights to a huge range of readers, as it has for over fifty years.” From publisher Faber and Faber.
First Edition Identification
The book was first published in 1961 by Faber and Faber, London, under the pseudonym N.W. Clerk. Lewis wished to avoid identification as the author and referred to his wife as only ‘H’.
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On Apr 21, 2012, Judy_Croome said
In the last year, I've experienced a spate of close family deaths, but Lewis’ A GRIEF OBSERVED is a personal diary I could relate to only fleetingly. Perhaps his sincere grief, and its intensity, is different to my grief because, thankfully, I haven’t yet lost my own much-loved spouse. While Madeleine L’Engle’s introduction was an erudite and emotional expression of her grief after losing her husband of 40 years, Lewis’s first two chapters were too angrily self-absorbed and incoherent for me to gain any comfort or connection with his writing. To his credit, he appears fully aware of this, and expresses his own doubts about his painful intellectual ramblings about what is, in truth, a purely emotional experience. “Do I hope,” he says on Page 32, “that if feeling disguises itself as thought I shall feel less?” And later, on Page 36, he says, “Feelings, and feelings, and feelings. Let me try thinking instead.” I was left with the impression that, in his obvious shock at losing his beloved H, despite all their prayers, he turned to his outstanding intellect for succour, and found none.Reflecting the social era in which he wrote it (1960), and his own genius (he was an Oxford Fellow), there are also hints of social and intellectual elitism in this book. Lewis’s disparaging dismissal of a labouring man’s grief for his Mum (Page 21 and 51) did expose certain personal attitudes to people he considered intellectually and socially beneath him.But then, like grief itself, this is a very individual book. Lewis’s grief cannot be mine, and vice versa. I’m left with a mild sense of distaste that such a personal diary was ever published and wonder why Lewis agreed to publish such an intimate and, at times, hostile reflection of his private experience of loss.However, the last two chapters, when Lewis has clearly begun to find his emotional balance again, did provide some interesting and challenging thoughts on death, the process of grieving and God. Observations such as the small gem “Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state but a process,” made the book worth finishing.
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A Grief Observed
by Lewis, C.S.
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A Grief Observed
by Lewis, C.S.
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A Grief Observed
by Lewis, C.S.
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A Grief Observed (Faber paperbacks)
by C.S. Lewis
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Faber and Faber. Paperback. Used; Good. Simply Brit welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring theres something for every literary palate. All orders are… Read more about this item Item Price
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A Grief Observed
by Lewis, C. S.
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A Grief Observed
by Lewis, C.S.
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A Grief Observed
by C. S. Lewis (author); Madeleine L'Engle (foreword)
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- 1996
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Kansas City, Missouri, USA
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Clean, unmarked copy with minor wear. Pages slightly tanned. Item Price
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A Grief Observed
by C. S. Lewis
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- 1984-01
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- 0816401373
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HOUSTON, Texas, USA
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HarperSanFrancisco, 1984-01. Hardcover. Used: Good. Item Price
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A Grief Observed
by C. S. Lewis
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- 2001
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Seattle, Washington, USA
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HarperCollins Publishers, 2001. Paperback. Good. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed. Item Price
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A Grief Observed
by Lewis, C. S
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- Used - Good
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- 1984-01-01
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Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA
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Seabury Pr, 1984-01-01. Hardcover. Good. 7x5x0. Contents are tight, some ink; in used dj Item Price
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A Grief Observed
by Lewis, C. S
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- 1984-01-01
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- Hardcover
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San Diego, California, USA
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Seabury Pr, 1984-01-01. Hardcover. New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! Item Price
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A Grief Observed
by Lewis, C S
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- ISBN 10
- 0553235397
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Frederick, Maryland, USA
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A Grief Observed
by Lewis, C.S.
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- As New
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- No Dust-jacket As Issued
- Edition
- Twelfth Printing
- Published
- 2000
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- Trade Paperback
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- 0060652381
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Canton, Georgia, USA
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San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2000. Twelfth Printing. Trade Paperback. As New/No Dust-jacket As Issued. In Wraps; Covers are clean and bright and flat; corners are sharp and spine is not creased; Book Edges are Clean; Book Interior is clean, tight and unmarked; 8vo; 76 pages;
0.20#; P3; A; MS9.00; OD-101823;ACQ6-23;C-123; 10/12/318; Item Price
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A Grief Observed
by C.S. Lewis
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FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia, USA
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C. S. Lewis' classic confession of near-despair and rediscovered faith probes the issues of life, death, and hope in the midst of loss. Item Price
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GRIEF OBSERVED
by C S Lewis
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- Used - Very Good
- Published
- 1976
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Blairsville, Georgia, USA
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Clean & tight & unmarked. Tanning of pages with age. Moderate shelf/edge wear with a small spot of scuffing on back cover near bottom.
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A Grief Observed
by C. S. Lewis
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- Hardback
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- 006065273x
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Southport, Merseyside, GBR
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A Grief Observed
by Lewis, C.S.
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- Used
- Published
- 1961
- ISBN 10
- 0816401373
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Eugene, Oregon, USA
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$27.00
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The Seabury Press, 1961. Hardcover with dust jacket. VG/VG. Eighth printing, in red dust jacket. Slight foxing to dust jacket. Item Price
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A Grief Observed
by C. S. Lewis
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- UsedGood
- ISBN 10
- 0060652381
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Skokie, Illinois, USA
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UsedGood. 2001 pbk ed w/ alt cover (76 pgs). VERY noticeable sun fading. Text is mostly clean & readable. Item Price
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A Grief Observed
by Lewis, C.S. (Afterword), Chad Walsh
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- Used - Near Fine
- Published
- 1983
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- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 0553274864
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Eunumclaw, Washington, USA
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US: Bantam, 1983. Bantam 1983 Near Fine/ Minimal tip wear and minimal spine creasing o/w Fine. Tight unmarked tanned pages.. Mass Market Paperback. Near Fine. Item Price
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