A Grief Observed

C.S. Lewis writes in the first chapter about the awkwardness of running into friends and acquaintances after his wife died. He found that they were embarrassed to see him, either because they not did not know what to say to him or he reminded them of death. Have you ever had a similar experience, either as the bereaved or someone who didn’t know what to say to the bereaved? Did reading this change your understanding of grief and how to react to the bereaved? Explain.

C.S. Lewis published A Grief Observed under a pseudonym (the book was attributed to him after his death) Why do you think he did this? Do you think his reputation as a prominent Christian writer was a factor in this decision? Do you think other factors were involved?

Both the Foreword and Introduction provide details of the relationship between H. and Lewis that are not revealed in the four chapters of A Grief Observed. How does knowing the story of Helen and C.S. Lewis affect the reader’s understanding of the book? Would reading the book without that knowledge change the experience?