Written in the first person from Joy’s POV, I often found myself wondering if she was being truthfully portrayed. There were so many of them, that my father built rows of bookshelves in my bedroom, rows so high that I needed a chair to reach the top one. Lewis allows us to see how this brilliant and passionate woman lived--and why she stole Jack's heart"--. The story is in first person which I used to say I wasn’t a fan, but I’m hooked now after reading this.

Harper Inspire sent out a beautiful blogger package containing a proof of the book, pen and paper, an envelope and a tea light, along with a handy tote bag. During this time in history (the 50s), Joy’s independence and decisions regarding her marriage and children were most likely questioned. After spending time with Jack and enjoying a mutual fondness, Joy begins to realize her growing love for him.I loved reading about his life and Joy Davidman’s life evolving together from letters to meeting in person. S. Lewis, for readers who appreciate stories of determined, risk taking, and independent women, and for those looking for a new historical fiction read or an inspiring romance. She is idolatrous at every turn, looking to men and her circumstances to bring her the hope, peace and joy she so desperately craves - which are abundantly hers in Christ if she would seek him. With her cousin’s encouragement, she considers traveling to England, to immerse herself in its history and literature.

This book of fiction imagines that world where Joy and Lewis correspond, meet and eventually marry after many years and as the story continues we see the tragedies of their lives unfold. It is very much a novel about the interplay of fate, destiny and choice and about how we survive the surviving.

Joy Davidman, an American, became Lewis‘s best friend, editor, and the only women he ever loved and married. The book begins with her life as a wife and mother, and I could sense right away that something is not right in her marriage.

I read this book with a continuous smile on my face – from the start of the friendship, to the blossoming of romance and even the conversations – every page filled my heart with warmth. In this biographical novel, Henry tells how American poet and mother Joy Davidman became the wife of C. She ached, as we all do, to be accepted for who she really was even as she lost track of who she really was. There are so many small details that create a stunning setting both of beauty especially during Joy’s first trip to Oxford and heartache back in her unhealthy marriage and strangling New York home. That becomes even more of a question when the Author’s Notes state that all their letters were destroyed.

This inspired me, after I graduated as a teacher, to work abroad for nine years, teaching English as a foreign language, developing an understanding of English grammar along the way.