Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis

This is one of those books I think any authentic admirer of C.S.Lewis should read because Douglas H. Gresham writes so empathetically as well as objectively of his Mother Joy and his step father 'Jack' Lewis. Seeing these two people thru his eyes from childhood to young adulthood is fascinating. Be it the feel of his Mothers embrace that made him feel safe, to how mature his view was of his father who had problems with alcohol. Where some people would have been harsh or mean in how they saw such a parent Douglas was able to see beyond the issue of alcohol to something deeper. Reading of his first impressions of C. S. Lewis and his brother Warnie again shows reality vs visions one has in their heads of things and people not yet seen. From the cigarette stained teeth to the evening visits to the local pub, Douglas bring a sense of humanness to the great author. And his descriptions of the places he/they lived are so real one feels as if they are a fly on the wall. The thing that makes me appreciate Douglas so much is how the lessons he saw and was taught have taken root in his life . He now lives in Ireland and is active in walk the community helping women with unwanted pregnancies. So the nasty comment by reviewer Kona (Emerald City) 'The problem with this book is that Douglas Gresham did nothing in his own life to warrant an autobiography' makes me wonder just how much of the book did they actually read, since having taken the priceless lessons that the great C.S.Lewis wrote and taught and putting them to day to day use, makes Douglas well worthy of being an author. The title is after all 'Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis'.

In the preface Greshman makes it clear that the book is his story about his life. No doubt the publisher thought it necessary to throw "My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis" on the cover because this is the reason why we care about Douglas Greshman. Most of the book is about his early life and there is much on his mother Joy and Lewis. I found the parts that had nothing to do with Joy and Lewis to be enjoyable too. Gresham is a very good writer and you get a feel for what it was like to grow up in England in the 1950's. Only the last few chapters deal with his life after the death of Lewis. But in some ways, this is an important part of the Lewis story. Why you ask? Because we see how little Gresham, Lewis' stepson, benefited from being his stepson. Greshman was dirt poor and barely getting by. What happened to Lewis' money? Why were Lewis' two stepsons not in his will? Whatever one thinks about the book overall, it is an essential piece of C.S. Lewis history. Greshman saw Lewis up close and personal. He gives insights that few others can. Even if he did not live with Lewis all the time (he was at boarding school), he still lived with Lewis some of the time, and this is more than most. His memories are invaluable.

Unlike some reviewers, I found Lenten Lands well-written, poignant, and honest, though it dies a bit towards the end. (As auto-biographies often do -- if the author doesn't die first, like Moses.) I am not sure why some reviewers complain that Douglas chose to tell his story, even if his memories of Lewis were not as full, say, as George Sayers, and he has lived a fairly simple, even blue-color, life at times. Greshem's descriptions of growing up, the houses he lived in, taking the boat to England, London and Oxford, and the Kilns, were all interesting to me, though as a fan of Lewis I was of course anticipating scenes of his life. Greshem brings nature, his feelings, the drama of watching his mother come to love C. S. Lewis and the love returned, then her death, to life. The scene in which his dying but still fiercely defensive mother confronts a trespasser with a shotgun, C. S. Lewis standing alarmed at her side, and yells, "Get out of my line of fire, Jack!", and the scenes that follow, made me laugh for a fair chunk of an hour. I didn't expect this book to all be about Lewis; hasn't he had enough pure biographies already? I was pleased to learn much more about Joy, whom Douglas and "Jack" both greatly loved. (Having read her Smoke on the Mountain, I agree she had talent and insight -- though Douglas' claim that she was an intellectual match for Lewis should be described as filial, I think.) Lenten Lands seemed to me an honest and thoughtful story, and I found myself reading it very quickly.

First I must say that I am a bit put off with reviews suggesting that this wonderful book is, to paraphrase, too much about Doug Gresham and not enough about C.S. Lewis. If you'll read the subtitle, it clearly indicates that this is a book about Doug's childhood with his mother and step-father.Taking this book for what it is, and what I believe it was intended to be, I feel I am able to see through the eyes of a young Doug Gresham, as well as an older Doug (who wrote this much later in life), and get a lot closer to a "true" image of Lewis. This book allows me to see a perspective of Lewis that no other author could possibly offer. I know that when my own father died almost two years ago, the glowing eulogy given was truly wonderful, but only touched on the essence of the man I knew my father to be.I feel that with this book, readers are offered a glimpse of Lewis that no one other than Doug could offer, and not yet another glowing eulogy offered by many other authors, nor a misguided critique offered by many writers who never even met the man.Additionally, Doug is quite a gifted writer, and this is evident of his accounts of Lewis' life throughout the book.And I would also add that over the past several years, Doug has become someone I consider to be a good friend as well, and I can tell you without any hesitation, he is one of the most direct and honest people I know. If I want the truth, read this book.

Many books have been written about C.S. Lewis and his works, but it is rare for books to be written in this field by those who knew him, particually by his own relatives. A candid and thoughtful account, this is not only a book about C.S.Lewis and Joy Davidman Lewis, but also the memoirs of the early life of his author. On both those accounts a delightful book has been produced which is difficult to put down, and which produces a picture where memories of warmth and pain mingle in proportion to each other