travel writer

By Tim Saunders

When a dear friend dies it turns your whole world upside down. It’s absolutely devastating and even if you believe in the after life, coming to terms with the loss is something that some of us can never quite achieve.

My wife and I are experiencing this with a close friend who sadly suddenly passed away. Our loss is always at the back of our minds no matter what we do. It is such a tragic story because she leaves her partner and their two adorable young children. My wife had the privilege of knowing her for just three years but in that time she became her best friend and she was always there offering help and advice. It is heartening to read A Grief Observed by CS Lewis, who wrote such classics as The Chronicles of Narnia. To learn that such an intelligent man felt the same about the loss of his wife as we do seems to help with the grieving process.

This 64 page book does not provide any answers but what it does do is give the reader time to consider their thought processes. A subject that so many of us shy away from because we are scared.

I can relate to CS Lewis’ experiences that grief feels like fear, “the same fluttering in the stomach… At other times it feels like being mildly drunk or concussed. There is a sort of invisible blanket between the world and me. I find it hard to take in what anyone says.”

Lewis writes that following his wife’s death he experienced her presence but that should he momentarily forget about her he is overcome by shame.

Dealing with grief is certainly a difficult operation. For me the only way of tackling it is remembering the loved ones I have lost and praying while also trying to help those left behind as much as I can. At a time of such loss others love does shine through and that is heart-warming to see.

Published by Faber

Price: £7.99

ISBN: 978-0-571-29068-0