Sheldon Vanauken

C. S. Lewis was their mentor and friend. When tragedy struck, he became their guide and a comforter of piercing insight and compassion. His letters are carefully preserved and reproduced in this moving account of the extraordinary love between Sheldon Vanauken and Jean Davis. This beautiful tale bears witness not only to the relationship between Van and Davy, but to the understanding which grew between two men who both had to suffer the severe pain of loss.

A heart-rending love story described by its author as "the spiritual autobiography of a love rather than of the lovers" about the author's marriage and search for faith. Vanauken chronicles the birth of a powerful pagan love borne out of the relationship he shares with his wife, Davy, and describes the growth of their relationship and the dreams that they share. A beloved, profoundly moving account of the author's marriage, the couple's search for faith and friendship with C. S. Lewis, and a spiritual strength that sustained Vanauken after his wife's untimely death. Replete with 18 letters from C.S. Lewis, A Severe Mercy addresses some of the universal questions that surround faith--the existence of God and the reasons behind tragedy.