Becoming Mrs. Lewis - Book Review

Originally published May 20, 2025

To be perfectly honest, I had forgotten C.S. Lewis was married until I picked up Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan Henry. This historical novel is based off the letters, biographies, and works written by or about Lewis and Helen Joy Davidman (known as Joy), the woman he fell in love with and married. In some ways this book reminds me of The Number of Love by Roseanna M. White, but really the story is unique and unlike most books I've ever read.

Plot Summary

Joy Davidman Gresham's marriage to her drunk, moody, adulterous husband Bill begins to take its toll on her when she first becomes a Christian. Bill also becomes interested in religion and a mutual friend advises them to write to C.S. Lewis (called Jack by his friends) and seek his thoughts on Christianity. While Bill quickly loses interest, Joy continues to correspond with Jack and a friendship sparks between them.

When Joy's health gives her trouble, she takes a trip to England to see Jack and regain her strength. As her marriage spirals towards divorce, she moves from America to England, both for herself and for her sons. Her and Jack's relationship is still strictly in the confines of friendship, but what if they were meant to be more than friends?

Content Warnings

There are a few cuss words and once Joy sleeps with someone. Bill's affairs are talked about often. Joy's desire for Lewis is mentioned.

Personal Thoughts

Wow. I learned so much about Joy Davidman in this book. The author's extensive research shows and I was fascinated by this side of Lewis's life. The book lays out the good, bad, and unusual details of Joy's life. The author manages to be accurate without being dry.

While Joy is by no means a perfect heroine, she's one who tries to do her best. She was sharp as a tack, a little overly-dramatic, and idealistic. Each character was incredibly well crafted, from Jack to Bill to Wernie. I hated Bill; he was a scoundrel. I loved how the author brought Jack to life; after I finished the book he seemed like a real person to me instead of a dead theologian who wrote a bunch of books. I found myself referring to C.S. Lewis as Jack afterwards. 😆

Joy's relationship with Jack can certainly be termed a slow-burn. The tension held me throughout the story. I knew they would get married in the end, but I wondered how. Though things didn't heat up until the last quarter of the book, I sensed the strong connection they had. The ending made everything worth it. I almost cried, which is rare for me.

Notes

This book is best for teens and adults.

Steam Level: 💋💋💋💋

This book appears under the name Patti Callahan and Patti Callahan Henry.

Ramblings Inspired by the Book

Joy's journey captured me from the start. She felt like there was a hole in her life and she looked everywhere for someone or something to fill it. She turned from education to men to religion to writing and back to men, but each encounter leaves her empty. At the heart of her search was the cry, "Will you give me love? Will you make me feel like I'm loved?" When she became a Christian, her eyes cracked open a little, but not enough for her to see the truth. She still believes that something, like her writing, or someone, like Jack, could make her feel that she was loved and worth something.

Her final moment of clarity comes when there's little hope Jack will ever love her and that she'll have to return to her miserable life with Bill. She expresses her revelation with these words:

The Truth: I was beloved of God. Finally I could stop trying to force someone or something else to fill that role.

Joy had a choice to make. She could either believe that something temporal would fill an eternal longing, or she could accept that the only one who could make her feel loved was God Himself.

Everyone has a desire for love that they try to fill. Each has their own thing they chase because they believe it will make them feel like they matter - success, money, a relationship, a hobby, romance, a position. You name it, someone's attempted to use it to satisfy the yearning for love.

But the reality is, nothing on this earth can satisfy our deepest desires. Joy learned this after years of trial and error. Just as she was on the cusp of finding the answer, something happened and the carpet was pulled out from under her. Yet again, something had failed her and she was left right where she was before.

But once she relied instead on the love of God, everything changed. She stopped putting expectations on temporary things and instead accepted them as gifts from God. She no longer forced someone to love her as only God could love her.

There's a quote that is so famous it has almost become cliché, but I'm going to put it here because I love it so much. St. Augustine of Hippo said, "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee." We were not made to be satisfied with what is in the world. Our hearts will be restless until we allow ourselves to be satisfied only with God and His love for us. After that everything else is put in its proper place. Eventually we will find that everything in this world cannot compare to comprehending "the width and length and height and depth" and knowing the love of God (Ephesians 3:18-19, NASB).

For those of you who have read Becoming Mrs. Lewis, what did you think of it? For those of you who have not read it, would you? Tell me in the comments below!