#REVIEW: CS Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian by Gregory Cootsona

Title: CS Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian

Series: none

Author:  Gregory Cootsona

Published Date: October 6, 2014

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press

Format: ebook

Pages: 160

ISBN:  9780664239404

Genre: Christian nonfiction biographical

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Purchase: Amazon

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: C.S. Lewis has long been recognized as a beloved author of children's literature and an apologist for Christian belief to a skeptical modern world. In this new volume, Gregory S. Cootsona shows us how Lewis can also serve as a guide to the ups and downs of the Christian journey. Like many of us, Lewis suffered from a variety of crises of faith and personal experience. Like us, he came to faith in a world that no longer respects Christian commitment or offers much room for belief in God. Like us, he felt the absence of God when those closest to him died. Like us, he wrestled with doubt, wondering if God is real, or simply the projection of his own wishes onto the screen of the universe. Like us, he knew the kinds of temptations he described with such poignancy and humor in "The Screwtape Letters."

By examining these and the other crises of C.S. Lewis's life, Cootsona shows us how Lewis found God in each one, and how he shared those discoveries with us in his writing. All those wishing to deepen and enrich their own spiritual journey will find much guidance and wisdom in these pages. 

My Review: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

This was a very slow book for me to read, but only because it shifted my normal reading mind from flying through a book packed with action, romance, suspense, etc etc, to slowly reading through this book to truly understand one of my favorite children’s fiction authors, CS Lewis. No, I have not read any of this other works, though I am eyeing The Screwtape Letters. I have read the Narnia Chronicles as a child and as an adult, and I believe I actually enjoy them more as an adult. Perhaps this coming year I will delve into his non-fiction apologetic works.

The author does a good job of showing us Lewis’ work through the lens of Lewis’ life and the reasons behind the writing of each. As the author put it, when Lewis found himself in a crisis, he would sit down and write through it. This book caused me to read a paragraph, then go back and re-read it, and then go back and re-read it a third time to truly understand the thought process behind Lewis’ apologetic works. For a scientist like myself, it is not easy at times to follow the process of subjects that are so amorphous at times.

Over all, though, it was a good book, and one that introduced me to a part of Lewis’ life that I avoided.