First, full disclosure: If you were to ask me about my favorite movies, Shadowlands would consistently occupy one of the first five places, if not the top spot. I love the story of how beloved Narnia author C. S. Lewis, a confirmed bachelor, found love late in life where he was least expecting it --- with an outspoken Jewish American divorcee named Joy Davidman Gresham. The film, for which Debra Winger received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Joy, chronicles the couple's brief but profound romance and even briefer marriage, cut short by Joy's death from breast cancer. Most people, if they are familiar with Joy at all, only know her through the fictional movie portrayal or possibly through Lewis' own beautifully written memoir, A GRIEF OBSERVED, in part about how Joy's untimely death shook Lewis' strong Christian faith.

Abigail Santamaria aims to breathe life into this fascinating woman's biography, showing Joy as an independent free thinker, not just as an accessory to Lewis, which is how she often has been depicted elsewhere. She also portrays Joy as more complicated --- and more flawed --- than in previous accounts, which may surprise many readers. But what emerges is a portrait of a woman at once more human and more alive, despite (or because of?) her shortcomings.

"Readers who appreciate JOY will likely not only return to Shadowlands but also may seek out more of Joy's own writings, to continue getting to know this fascinating, complicated woman."

Santamaria presents Joy's life as a sort of quest narrative, portraying Joy as a seeker from an early age when, as a precocious young girl, she dreamed of encountering Fairyland and found more comfort at the zoo and botanical gardens than she did at school, where, thanks to her academic giftedness, she was placed in classes with children much older than herself. Joy took up poetry at an early age, and was often inspired by the heavens and by mythology.

As a young woman and aspiring writer, Joy became involved with a number of organizations where she found community and inspiration; first, the Communist Party and, during her first marriage, L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics movement. Joy had admired Lewis' philosophical and theological writings for years, despite being an avowed atheist. But when she became increasingly interested in Christianity following her first husband's mental breakdown, she began a more intense correspondence with Lewis that culminated in a friendship and, eventually, love.

Santamaria's biography of Joy directly addresses issues that other writers have glossed over: the fact that Joy left her two young sons alone with their father (to whom she was still married) for several months while she went to England to pursue C. S. Lewis (whom she called Jack), and the fact that her husband, who's been widely described as an abusive alcoholic, was actually sober during the final years of their marriage, while Joy was already at least emotionally involved with Lewis. Santamaria doesn't make excuses for Joy's potential moral failings. Instead she sheds light on Lewis' assertion that he and Joy were "a sinful woman married to a sinful man; two of God's patients, not yet cured." Santamaria also includes numerous examples of Joy's poetry in her biography, as well as several pages of photographs from throughout Joy's life.

Readers who appreciate JOY will likely not only return to Shadowlands but also may seek out more of Joy's own writings, to continue getting to know this fascinating, complicated woman.