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When I chose to write a research paper on the life and works of C.S. Lewis, I sought out the best resources that were available to learn about his life and his works. Through that research, I discovered that Lewis’ stepson had written a biography of his stepfather. While many biographies have been written about Lewis over the years, I knew that one written by someone who knew him personally would be one worth reading. Even now, this is one of my biographies of Lewis to reference. This is definitely one worth checking out. ~ Bethel  In his book Jack’s Life, Douglas Gresham shares the story of the life of C.S. Lewis, his stepfather and mentor. You start with the story of a boy with an active imagination who would lost his faith after losing his mother at a young age. Then he grew up, fought in a war, took in a late friend’s mother, and eventually rediscovered his faith, going on to become one of the most renowned authors and theologians of his time. Gresham reveals this through the lens of his admiration for a man who endured similar struggles in his younger life and loved him through his own difficulties. His grasp of Lewis’ writings and how his life experiences influenced them is profound, as he does a great job of summarizing some of Lewis’s concepts through the book. Including a DVD with an interview with Gresham, this book is a must have resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the life of C.S. Lewis.  Personal Rating. A great biography of the great C.S. Lewis  Interested in purchasing this title? If you purchase it from Amazon using the link below, Abiding Grace Ministries will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Purchase Jack's Life: https://amzn.to/3BovITq
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I’ve been a fan of C.S. Lewis since I read The Chronicles of Narnia when I was in junior high. But I was surprised when an older friend from my church gave me a copy of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and Lenten Lands by Douglas Gresham. Prior to receiving this book, all I knew about Gresham was that he was C.S. Lewis’ stepson and that he was the executive producer of Narnia films by Walden Media. When I can to write a paper on C.S. Lewis my senior year, I drove into Gresham’s story and was intrigued. So grateful to have received a copy of this book. Whether you are familiar with the life and works of Lewis or not, you will enjoy this autobiography ~ Bethel  In his autobiography, Douglas Gresham recounts the story of his childhood and how he eventually became the stepson of beloved author, C.S. Lewis. Facing anything but a carefree childhood, you follow his story from New York to Australia to England. It will draw you into the story of his life, even before it intersected with Lewis. But once they came to England, his life became extraordinary for him and his brother. You see an honest side to the difficult parts of his past. Between having a renowned stepfather, his mother dying from cancer, and eventually his stepfather pass away. Through it all, you not only discover the story of young man (at least the time he wrote the book) who learned how to overcome the difficulties he faced, but you also get an up close and personal look at C.S. Lewis, especially at the joys of his marriage and his struggles after his wife’s death as he faced the challenge of caring for two orphaned boys. If you are interested in learning more about the life of C.S. Lewis, this is definitely a book worth checking out.  Teen Rating. There are some dark elements of the story that might be intense for some teens. By the time he’s eighteen years old, Gresham had lost his parents and his stepfather. Comments made the negative nature of his father’s death might be difficult for some younger or sensitive readers to handle. However, I personal believe all of these elements are handled tastefully. If you have concerns, review it before your teen reads it.  Personal Rating. Aside from some of difficult elements, this a great autobiography and a personal account of C.S. Lewis. Definitely worth checking out. To read my review of Gresham's biography of his stepfather C.S. Lewis, click here  Interested in purchasing this title? If you purchase it from Amazon using the link below, Abiding Grace Ministries will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Purchase Lenten Lands: https://amzn.to/4gdbB9M
I have been a fan of Narnia since I first read the series when I was in junior high. I eventually became a fan of the other works of C.S. Lewis as well as the story of his life. Then my senior year of high school, I was assigned a research paper in my English class that was both a biography of an author as well as a literary analysis of one of their works of literature. When I decided to do this paper on C.S. Lewis, I went through some of the books I already owned about C.S. Lewis and discovered this book. I came to realize that this book went a step above most books that merely talk about the spiritual values in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – this book did the work of literary analysis for me while keeping the language understandable and the spiritual values at the forefront. This book was so rich in the details I needed, I didn’t have to reread The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to complete my paper. If you a huge fan of Narnia or need help with a research project like mine, I cannot recommend this book enough ~ Bethel
The Chronicles of Narnia is one of the most beloved fantasy series in history. With seven books written by the well-loved author C.S. Lewis, the first book of the series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, is probably the most beloved. This book, full of biblical parallelisms and practical life themes, has had many books written about it that try and get to the bottom of all of them. While some of them do a good job, others struggle with diving deep enough while also being understandable to the average person. However, there is one (or rather a series) that stands out above the rest by examining the book in a whole new way. 
In Inside Narnia, author Devin Brown dives into a compelling analysis of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, the first book released in The Chronicles of Narnia. Instead of just reviewing the spiritual themes or values in the story, Brown takes deeper by exploring the interesting symbols, deeper meanings, and fascinating details that often get missed. You also learn details about the life of C.S. Lewis that contributed to the story. While some books that do this type of literary analysis would be considered dry or uninteresting, this book makes the analysis engaging and understandable (as long as you have a basic understanding of literary analysis). As this book breaks down The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe chapter by chapter, you will come to see this beloved story in a whole new light and see how this fantasy world can teach us spiritual truths about our own world. If you are a fan of The Chronicles of Narnia or you have a research paper involving these topics, this is a book I highly recommend.
Teen Rating. I read this book as a senior in high school and really enjoyed it. However, I was a student who was both passionate about the topic and knowledgeable about literary analysis. A teen (or adult) that struggles with English or literary analysis may struggle with understanding portions of the book. On the other hand, if a student needs to do a project like a research paper on these topics, this would be a great resource to help them out
Personal Rating. This book is a great resource for both Narnia fans and literary analytics. I can’t recommend it enough
Two Additional Books
Inside Narnia was originally released in 2005 to coincide with the release of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe film from Disney and Walden Media. When the film proved to be successful, Devin Brown chose to write more books to coincide with the release of the subsequent films. Inside Prince Caspian was released in 2008 and Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader was released in 2010. They were all republished with new covers by a different publisher in 2013.
Both of these books use a similar precise to Inside Narnia. While I haven’t either of these books all the way through, I do own them and have read parts of both of them. I believe that they do they maintain a similar quality to the first book and would be valuable if you are interested in learning more about Prince Caspian or The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
However, Brown did not continue the series after the original film franchise was discontinued. Personally, I would love to see him complete this series one day, especially the one that would explore The Last Battle in greater detail. I also wish they hadn’t discontinued the film franchise, but that’s another story for another time.
Interested in purchasing any of these titles? If you purchase any of them from Amazon using one of the links below, Abiding Grace Ministries will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Purchase Inside Narnia: https://amzn.to/4feOnyT Purchase Inside Prince Caspian: https://amzn.to/4iyldxl Purchase Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader: https://amzn.to/3VBFhFf |
Lion's Eyes Reviews is a blog dedicated to reviews of Christian books, most of which are non-fiction, but may also occasionally review movies and musicals. It will also feature the work Bethel does to help launch and promote the works of Christian authors.
The name is derived from one of Bethel's favorite books, Through the Eyes of a Lion by Levi Lusko. Through these reviews, Bethel hope to give Christians the tools they need to look at the world "through the eyes of a lion" so they can find the courage to "run toward the roar". To find the detailed archives of these reviews, you can check them out here: Books In Review Movies in Review Broadway In Review Quick Reviews To understand the rating used in these reviews, click here Categories
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Bethel Grove is a Christian young woman who loves to read and write, eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzards, and disciple teen girls as a youth leader. What started as a hobby of writing book reviews and doing deep biblical studies eventually led her down the path of self-publishing and supporting other Christian authors and ministry volunteers. She hopes to someday be a vocational youth minister and well-known author.
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