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  • A Grief Observed

  • By: C. S. Lewis
  • Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
  • Length: 1 hr and 50 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (277 ratings)
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A Grief Observed cover art

A Grief Observed

By: C. S. Lewis
Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
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Summary

Written after his wife's tragic death as a way of surviving the "mad midnight moments", A Grief Observed is C.S. Lewis's honest reflection on the fundamental issues of life, death, and faith in the midst of loss. This work contains his concise, genuine reflections on that period: "Nothing will shake a man, or at any rate a man like me, out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring out the truth. Only under torture does he discover it himself."

This is a beautiful and unflinchingly honest record of how even a stalwart believer can lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and how he can gradually regain his bearings.

Click here to see all the C. S. Lewis titles in our collection.
©1961 C.S. Lewis Pte., Ltd. (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A very personal, anguished, luminous little book about the meaning of death, marriage, and religion." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about A Grief Observed

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  • 27-11-17

An account of grief written from the heart.

I listened to this soon after my mum passed away and found it helpful. Listening again 3 months later I can identify with so much more with what CS Lewis writes. Especially about recalling what a person was like when they lived. I highly recommend this book.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

a must for anybody alive

this book has two ten minute introductions which i am not reviewing..

i have listened to this book several times now and its raw honesty takes my breath away

no easy answers here thank God, more of a journey through a sea of pain to.. Well the book is a hopeful one i believe and death doesn't have the last laugh.

if like me you haven't really experienced grief but know somebody who has this might help you understand

excellently read by Ralph Cosham.





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3 people found this helpful

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  • LG
  • 24-03-22

Needed to listen to this book

As someone who just lost their father to suicide albeit 2 and half years ago, this book touched me in ways that I didn't realise I needed to think about. I would not have been able to listen to it immediately after my fathers death, my mind was too raw. Understanding that others feel the hurt and pain has made me feel able to start processing life again.
Life is not over, is one phrase which I needed to hear.

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Scarily accurate; how comforting

No author has ever been so scarily able to enter my mind and articulate my feelings on the pain of loss.

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Wow

Should be called a torture observed. For a brief chapter in his life he felt whole, validated, connected and loved. The saying better to have loved and lost rings very true.

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Makes me feel like I'm not alone in this

It's like Lewis put all of my thoughts into one little cohesive and intelligible book. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who has thought this way and I'm grateful that God gifted Lewis in such a beautiful way

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Grief- is just like this

I have experienced a major loss recently. This book articulates it so well. The early stages of grief. I have found it comforting to hear my thoughts and experiences via this Audiobook.

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1 person found this helpful

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Captivating

Its wonderfull and sad to see how a brilliant man goes though a big loss

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great short performance of an interesting book

it was a little weird to hear the Oblivion NPC coming out of my speakers at first, but the narrator does a great job. it's pretty heartbreaking to hear everything Lewis went through writing this, and as it's free in the plus catalogue I'd recommend it unless you have some very raw bereavement issues of your own to deal with and think it may trigger you.

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Beautiful and an outstanding performance

I have listened to this over and over. It is so moving. And Ralph Cosham is outstanding.

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