Becoming Mrs. Lewis

The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis

By: Patti Callahan

Narrated by: Lauren Woodward

Now a USA TODAY and Publishers Weekly best seller! Meet the brilliant writer, fiercely independent mother, and passionate woman who captured the heart of C.S. Lewis and inspired the books that still enchant and change us today.

When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis - known as Jack - she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford professor and the beloved writer of The Chronicles of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters.

Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, found a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.

In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice - and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had.

At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story - a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.

Praise for Becoming Mrs. Lewis:

“Becoming Mrs. Lewis deftly explores the life and work of Joy Davidman, a bold and brilliant woman who is long overdue her time in the spotlight. Carefully researched. Beautifully written. Deeply romantic. Fiercely intelligent. It is both a meditation on marriage and a whopping grand adventure. Touching, tender, and triumphant, this is a love story for the ages.” (Ariel Lawhon, New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia)

“Patti Callahan Henry breathes wondrous fresh life into one of the greatest literary love stories of all time.... The result is a deeply moving story about love and loss that is transformative and magical.” (Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale)

“It's novel. And it's a very good one...extraordinarily accurate...more accurate than most biographical essays that have been written about my mother.” (Douglas Gresham, son of Joy Davidman, wife of C.S. Lewis)

• Full-length historical novel about the wife of C.S. Lewis

©2018 Patti Callahan (P)2018 Thomas Nelson

Critic reviews

“Profoundly evocative, revealing an intimate view of a woman whose love and story had never been fully told...until now...Becoming Mrs. Lewis is a tour de force and the must-read of the season!” (Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times best-selling author of Beach House Reunion)

"Patti Callahan somehow inhabits Davidman, taking her readers inside the writer’s hungry mind and heart. We keenly feel Davidman’s struggle to become her own person at a time (the 1950s) when women had few options.... An astonishing work of biographical fiction." (Lynn Cullen, best-selling author of Mrs. Poe)

"Patti Callahan breathes life into this fascinating woman whose hunger for knowledge leads her to buck tradition at every turn." (Diane Chamberlain, New York Times best-selling author of The Dream Daughter)

Narrator really got in the way.

I spent most of the time I listened to this book trying to improve the narration in my mind so I could enjoy it. How was this narrator chosen? She doesn’t bring an accent/voice that is appropriate for either Joy or Jack.

Apart from that huge issue, the book is worth reading. The characters are interesting for their strengths and weaknesses, remarkable for their body of work and intriguing for their developing worldview, careers and friendships.

A Wonderful Exploration of CS Lewis's Muse

This book is a work of fiction. However, in this case, what it means is that Patti Callahan has done extensive research into the life of Joy Davidman Lewis, her relationship with CS Lewis and his brother Warnie, and her writing. It's fiction, because Callahan fills in the details that tie her research together. It is wonderfully written, and the use of quotes from Joy's sonnets and other writings makes for a truly magical experience.

Poor narrator

I found this story to be interesting but the narrator was not good, often mispronouncing words and trying to use accents that were just terrible. With the proper narrator, this would have been an outstanding “read. “

very well told story

I think the author did a great job showing Joy and "Jack" as they truly were, and not watered down versions of what we might expect them to be like.

wonderful

THIS is now one of my favorite books. I will be recommending it re- reading it over and over.
Wonderful from cover to cover.

Absolutely delightful!

I listened to this book in a span of 3 days it was amazing, I can’t believe how wonderful this book was.

A Beautiful Love Story

Thank you for your meticulous research in bringing this beautiful love story to light. Narration compelling.

Amazing!!!

I totally loved it all! What an amazing story! I savored every sentence wondering what was next just before it came. I was completely pulled into the story and so satisfied at the end. Thank you!

Sublime... Beautiful beyond words!!

Exquisitely beautiful... Soul stirring...deeply moving... palpable... gut wrenching... truth beyond truth...

Darkness settled in at times as it does throughout all of our lives but through a magnificent soul connection and pure Divine love, the light was ALWAYS there. Sometimes just an undercurrent but it’s presence was always felt and always present. A love sooo beautiful... so mystified... so exquisitely sacred... it infuses into all who read it. Absolutely beautiful!!

a wonderful story of humanizing an intellect

This historical fiction is so heartfelt. I was completely taken in by the intensity of the relationship between Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis. The 4 star instead of 5 for performance is because I felt uneasy at times with the portrayal ( ie narration) of Jack, ie: C.S. Lewis. I've pondered what I would have done: hire a male voice? hire a native British person? In the end I came to accept the voice of Lewis, sometimes reluctantly, but the voice of Joy was so honest, forthright. It felt like it was Joy speaking and if ever I should or could hear Joy Davidman speak...not likely unless a recording is un-earthered, I might not believe it to be the real Joy since the narrator's voice twas so convincing. The story is compelling because true, even if the conversations had to be imagined. I agree that it is past time for the women BESIDE ( not behind) certain well-revered men to be recognized and their part in the creative endeavors of those great men acknowledged.It is not a secondary role . This book is a marvelous account of finding love, and the best part is that it is true. It really did happen. Lewis' overwhelming reliance on his intellect finally allowed his companion Joy into his heart, and it was powerful. Thank you Patti Callahan Henry for the hours of research and effort you put in.