It’s rare anymore that I will sit down and read for hours. I just never have time…that is, until last week. A killer virus had me down for the better part of a week. The downside: I looked and felt like death. The upside: I got to read! And I had the privilege of reading one of the best books I’ve read in I-don’t-even-know-how-long:
Ryan Pemberton’s CALLED: My Journey to C.S. Lewis’s House & Back Again.
I knew I wanted to read this book because a) I took my own little mini-journey to England years ago and I knew Ryan’s book would feed the nostalgic side of me, b) I think C.S. Lewis is pretty cool and c) I had a chance to meet Ryan a couple years ago at a literary agency retreat and it’s always fun to read books by people you’ve met.
What I didn’t know when I first opened it was that I’d end up in tears by the end of the second chapter and would find myself refreshed, spiritually challenged and creatively energized in a way I’ve sorely needed. I’m actually going to review the book on Friday here on my blog because there are just too many wonderful things to say about it. But for now, please enjoy meeting Ryan and be sure to enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a copy of the book!
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Melissa: Okay, a get-to-know-you question to start…who do you like to read most?
Ryan: I enjoy authors who take a real, honest look at their own life and use that to write from, especially on questions of faith. I read a lot of memoirists. For me, Frederick Buechner is about the greatest out there. He encourages me to pay attention to the details of my life, both the exciting and the monotonous bits, as, he suggests, they’re trying to tell me the story of my life. He pioneered the way for many memoirists today, and he has a way of making words dance. Donald Miller taught me how to have a conversation with the reader. I also really like Lauren Winner, whose prose is silky smooth and who is as brilliant as she is talented. Anne Lamott has this razor-sharp wit that makes me laugh while also making me think. Annie Dillard writes some of the lushest prose around; I need to read her more. Of course, C. S. Lewis has been a huge influence, but perhaps not as much on my own personal writing.
Melissa: So why C.S. Lewis? I mean, he’s awesome, of course. But what personally drew you to him?
Ryan: C. S. Lewis is awesome, I agree. But the funny thing is, I didn’t even read Lewis until I was a sophomore in college. I feel like one of the few Lewis fans who didn’t grow up on the Chronicles of Narnia.
I actually started with Mere Christianity, which may have been a total turnoff for some, but for me, it was exactly what I needed. I grew up in and out of the church, but as a 19-year-old, that was the first time I came across a Christian who was clearly brilliant, and who didn’t squirm from difficult questions of the faith. He could articulate the difficult things I was asked to believe, in really powerful ways, using beautiful analogies. That was the first time I had ever seen someone write like that. It sounds funny, but I feel like C. S. Lewis gave me permission to be a thinking Christian.
My heart had been baptized years earlier, but I like to say it wasn’t until I read C. S. Lewis that my mind was baptized. That changed my life in tangible ways.
Melissa: For fun, what’s your favorite C.S. Lewis book? What one does EVERYBODY have to read?
Ryan: That’s such a hard question… I mean, Lewis writes in so many different genres, and some people who like his science fiction have no interest in his apologetic works, or his children’s literature (I’ve yet to find someone who says their favorite is his Oxford History of English Literature in the 16th Century, Excluding Drama, but maybe they’re out there…).
For me, it’s Mere Christianity. I used to think it was just because this was my introduction to Lewis, but I’ve since went back and re-read it many times, and every time I walk away with a new appreciation for his efficient, rich insights on the Christian faith.
Other books l like to recommend are a collection of his essays, God in the Dock, simply because it’s fun to see Lewis write on so many different topics (whether Christmas is still worth celebrating in light of consumerism, the role of Pagan mythology in a Christian imagination, whether animals go to heaven, etc.). Also, I love to recommend Lewis’s letters. It’s estimated that Lewis wrote more than one hundred thousand letters in his lifetime (according to his godson, Laurence Harwood)! It’s not surprising his letters take up three volumes. Of course, you don’t have to read all three volumes to appreciate them. He took his time answering questions he received from readers all over the world; they’re incredibly thoughtful, and often overlooked.
Melissa: What was the biggest challenge in writing this book?
Ryan: GREAT question! Because I was writing a memoir, my story overlapped with a lot of other people’s stories. So I had to think long and hard about the stories that I told, and how much detail I included, especially those that were more personal. As a storyteller in this genre, you find yourself asking, Do I risk hurting someone else’s feelings to tell the truth? After getting several opinions from author friends of mine, I ended up having some tough conversations where I basically said, Look, this is going to be a very difficult part of the book for you to read, but here’s why I think this story needs to be told. I gave people the option of nixing anything they didn’t feel comfortable with. Thankfully, no one did, but yeah, that was tough.
Also (and I’m not even sure if you knew this, Melissa) but I actually signed this book deal during the last year of my masters degree, so I was literally finishing my book manuscript while writing my final papers and submitting my thesis! Oh, and that was after deciding it’d be a good year to give up coffee for lent. Crazy, I know. I’m thankful to have that behind me!
Melissa: Haha, I cannot even imagine writing a book without coffee, but writing a book without coffee WHILE writing final papers and submitting a thesis? EEK! So, I’m sure you had a bazillion awesome experiences while over in England? What was one of your coolest moments there?
Ryan: I did, yeah, and I tried to capture as many of those that I could in Called. Most of those experiences were finding myself in conversation with the kind of people I just never imagined I’d actually meet, hearing first-hand stories from their time with C. S. Lewis, for example. But perhaps one of the most touching moments I had was while biking home from a lecture in Oxford late one evening. The snow had begun to fall just as the lecture began, and by the time it was over, there were several inches on the ground. I rode through the city center as the snow fell, and it seemed to blanket the usual noise of the city as much as it did the ground.
When I came up to the Radcliffe Camera (a breathtaking building in any weather) and the Bridge of Sighs, I was struck by a breath-taking scene. There was a lamppost illuminating the arched stone bridge in the snow, and it stopped me in my tracks. I was the only person around at the time, so I got off my bike and just stood there, taking it all in, for several minutes. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a similar experience that first gave Lewis the idea of the lamppost in the snowy wood.
Melissa: I remember that scene from in the book! What do you hope readers take away from reading Called?
Ryan: Called is a book about having a persistent itch to make a dramatic life change, it’s about leaving everything and setting out in pursuit of that dramatic call, and what unfolded after taking that step of faith. There were some really incredible peaks along the way of this journey, but also some very difficult valleys, especially at the end of the story.
Without spoiling the ending, the book actually concludes in what I describe as my worst nightmare. It doesn’t end with the usual “happy ending.” At the same time, I am touched in that moment by this remarkable, unspeakable peace. So, what I’d like readers to take away is that, when we take a dramatic step in faith to follow what we believe to be Christ’s call on our life, in a way that’s actually quite hard to explain and doesn’t always make sense, our understanding of success and failure are turned on their head. That’s a powerful lesson that I could not have understood before this journey.
Melissa: This book is just now releasing, so possibly asking this question is looking too far ahead. But if you can, tell us what’s next for you…
Ryan: Yeah, sure. I actually just signed a contract to write a curriculum series on some of C. S. Lewis’s writings, which churches and small groups will use not necessarily just to enjoy Lewis, but to help them go deeper in their engagement with his works. I’m really looking forward to getting going on this project!
I’m also getting going on a pitch for my next book for my agent, which I’ve been thinking about for a while and only just introduced to her. I was relieved when she liked it. Without saying too much, it’s going to be a book about death and why I think this topic is taboo in a culture that doesn’t blush about talking about anything. I feel a bit morbid talking about this idea, but death is a part of our own personal story (as readers of Called will see), and I want to try and show that rather than being forced into awkward silence or hurtful Christian clichés, we have some really powerful help in the Christian narrative on how to respond to the loss of loved ones, both in our own lives and in the lives of those we know. There’s some theological work to be done here, as well as some autobiographical storytelling to be told. That intersection of the two is the kind of writing I love most.
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RYAN J. PEMBERTON left a career in marketing and public relations to write about life and faith and God. He has degrees in theology from Duke Divinity School and Oxford University, where he lived in C. S. Lewis’s former home, served as President of the Oxford University C. S. Lewis Society, and co-founded the Oxford Open Forum, an interreligious dialogue group. He has written for Duke University Chapel, Bible Study Magazine, and Relevant magazine. He serves on the Board of Directors for Jesus’ Economy, an international non-profit organization that creates jobs and churches in the developing world. Ryan currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and daughter. Follow along at www.CalledTheJourney.com.
Comments 45
This book sounds good! C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors, and I enjoy memoirs. My favorite book by C.S. Lewis would probably be the Chronicles of Narnia series (can’t pick a favorite, though I’m partial to The Silver Chair), but I also love The Great Divorce and Mere Christianity. Thanks for the giveaway!
Author
It’s definitely a great book, so I hope you have a chance to check it out. Fun story: I read The Great Divorce in Spain. I was on spring break during my semester abroad, so every time I think of that book, I think of Costa del Sol and reading by the Mediterranean.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a personal favorite of mine. I’ve read it a few times to myself and out loud to my children. I look forward to reading your review of Ryan’s book. Thanks for the interview and the giveaway!
Author
Thanks for stopping by, Loraine. And yes, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is such a classic. I grew up on the BBC movie version. 🙂
I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while! I think one of my favorite Lewis books is “Til We Have Faces.” So very good and such a deep book!
Author
Ooh I borrowed Til We Have Faces from someone once, but I don’t think I ever actually read it. In fact, I’m not sure I even returned it. In which case…maybe I could finally read it…
My favorite C. S. Lewis book is Image and Imagination. It is a variety of Lewis ‘ s personal book reviews and essays on imagination. Having done two 25 page essays on him in graduate school, I really loved reading Lewis literary criticism books.
Author
Oh wow, Kelly, I bet you and Ryan have some experiences in common–reading and writing about C.S. Lewis. I haven’t read that collection of reviews/essays, but I love the topic. I should check it out.
This book looks amazing. Lately I have kind of been in a “what’s next, God?” phase and just asking God what He is calling us to do. I find it exciting and scary b/c more than anything I want to follow Christ with full abandon yet still struggle with wanting to do anything that requires me to step out of my comfort zone.
Author
Oh man, Laura, we are so similar. I will hear people talk about following with abandon–doing things like what Ryan did, picking up and moving across the ocean and following a call. But I’m always tripped up by a) indecision and not really knowing what my “call” is and b) a reluctance to leave my comfy life. We should talk about this sometime. And you should read Ryan’s book…honestly, reading it was an incredibly emotional experience for me. You should read it and then we should talk (and also hang out because I miss you!)…
I’m so excited to read this book! It wasn’t even on my radar, but I’m a big reader and Mere Christianity was an awakening for me as well. I think my favorite of Lewis’s books as an adult has been A Severe Mercy. That is a powerful story of learning to hold life loosely. Thanks for writing this book and sharing your journey, Ryan.
Author
I haven’t read that one, Bethany. I think I’m a bit behind on my C.S. Lewis. 🙂
It’s a memoir and collection of letters between C. S. Lewis and Sheldon van Auken (who may actually be listed as the author…I should check). Sheldon and his wife were unbelievably of one mind–until she became a believer. That deep betrayal (as he thought of it) caused him to wrestle until he came to faith at last. Just before she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He wrote to Lewis asking him how about faith, about grieving the loss of your wife, and other deep, precious things. The book’s title comes from God’s severe mercy, doing whatever it takes to win our hearts to His alone. Powerful stuff.
The Chronicles of Narnia because it is so easy to read and then understand the implications of believing. Great stuff.
Author
They are great to read! I think I actually saw the BBC movies first as a kid and then was ecstatic when I realized they were based off books, bookworm that I am.
This book sounds amazing! My favorites by Lewis are The Chronicles of Narnia, The Horse and His Boy being my favorite book in the series.
Author
I like The Horse and His Boy!! I think it’s my second favorite…The Magician’s Nephew has a special place in my heart. I like how it’s kind of an origin story for Narnia. But I love how The Horse and His Boy is the only one to take place completely in Narnia.
It’s hard to choose a favorite! But my favorite is probably The Last Battle. That book, and the last few chapters especially, captures my heart with an ecstatic hope every time I read it (or listen to the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre version).
Author
The last line of The Last Battle is one of my favorite lines ever!! I still remember reading it for the first time and getting goosebumps…
“All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”
I’m a huge CS Lewis fan so this book title snagged me immediately. Cannot wait to read it!
Author
I remember your love for C.S. Lewis from the quotes on your blog. 🙂
This sounds amazing! I would love to read it; I’m a big fan of Lewis (and Oxford). My favorite CS Lewis book … would probably be Voyage of the Dawn Treader. But Great Divorce is also amazing. 🙂 (Isn’t everything?)
Author
So many amazing books! I mentioned above that I read The Great Divorce while in Spain for a week. So that book hugely sticks out in my memory.
I love Dawn Treader, too. I’m particularly a fan of the Eustace storyline…the change in his character…
Because I’m honest, I’ve only been introduced to C.S. Lewis in the last year, because my children and I are exploring “The Chronicles of Narnia” in our homeschool curriculum, which brings me to mention how excited the prospect of the above mentioned curriculum makes me! I am, however, enjoying the series, and will likely read “Mere Christianity” next.
Author
Hey, nothing wrong with just now getting to know C.S. Lewis! Reading all these comments is making me realize how many of his books I haven’t read. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve read Mere Christianity, but reading Ryan’s book made me want to go back and reread it.
I absolutely LOVE C.S. Lewis! My favorite is Chronicles of Narnia. Melissa, thank you for introducing Ryan Pemberton! I look forward to reading Called. 🙂
Author
You’re welcome, Caryl. I hope you get a chance to read Ryan’s book. It’s truly remarkable.
This book sounds good! I am hoping I win a copy! If not, I will definitely buy it!
Thank you for the opportunity to win!
Author
You’re welcome, Christina, and thanks for stopping by! Hope you get a chance to read CALLED. It’s SO good!
Till we have faces is a clear Lewis favorite for me… and A Severe Mercy is a favorite Lewis-related story!
Till We Have Faces is my favorite Lewis book. I saw Ryan at Kindlingsfest a year or two ago and have been curious about his book since then!
Author
Oh cool, I think Ryan wrote about Kindlingsfest in his book. It sounds like an amazing experience.
Yeah….so this is a must have in my book shelf! As far as a favorite Lewis read – why must you ask such difficult questions??? One of my favs is Screwtape Letters. Clive was such a genius. #ForReal
Author
Oh yes, I bet you’d love this, Jamie. Aren’t you doing a C.S. Lewis book club of sorts?? You definitely need to read Ryan’s book. 🙂
Funny story about Screwtape Letters–my parents had a copy of that one on the shelves in the upstairs hallway in our old house. When I was really, really young I wanted to read it, but I think my mom thought it might scare me because she told me to wait until I was a little older. But I snuck it from the shelves and read it anyway and yes, it did kinda creep me out. But I think I might’ve been creeped out from my own guilt over disobeying more than the book itself. I reread it years later and yes, it’s so good. He really was a genius, and man, what a legacy he left.
Okay, you got me, Melissa. Can’t wait for the review on Friday.
Off to Amazon I go.
Some good questions, Melissa, and I too appreciate the other authors Ryan mentions. I will admit that I often struggle with Lewis’ work (not his novels) due to his brilliance. I so often find my mind explodes trying to understand what he’s saying. He’s simply so smart.
I’m planning to read the Narnia series this year. I’ve really only read bits of pieces of them but so many authors reference these as pivotal in their awakening their own creativity.
Till Friday (well, it will be Saturday down under).
Author
YAY I hope you like Ryan’s book, Ian. I have no doubt you will.
I hear you on Lewis’s brilliance…and even struggling with some of his writing because it’s just so hefty. I’ll admit, too, that I’ve struggled with that too. I’m trying to remember which book–it might be Til We Have Faces–that I started and just couldn’t wrap my head around. I should give it another go, especially since many people above listed it as a favorite.
And yay, the Narnia series! It’s been a long time since I read all of them and all the comments here make me want to go back and reread them. I LOVE The Magician’s Nephew…I’m a sucker for origin stories and that one tells the beginning of Narnia. Even though it was published sixth, I think, it’s a prequel…
This sounds like a book that will make you look at God differently. It sounds like it will challenge they way you live. I have one of CS Lewis books on my to read list this year. Would really like to win this.
Sonnetta
Author
Sonnetta, you’re exactly right–CALLED definitely challenges the way you live. I’ll be writing more about that in my review on Friday. 🙂
I confess, I haven’t actually read any of C.S. Lewis’ books. I know, that’s like saying I’ve never read Pride & Prejudice (which I haven’t ). *cue the shocked gasp* Though, after reading this, I’m definitely going to look up his books and see which ones I can pick up. I’ve been curious about Mere Christianity, but have never taken the time to read it. I will be sure to locate a copy of it, now. 🙂
Thanks for the reading suggestions! And a fun interview!
~Sarah
Author
Haha, I’m actually more shocked that you haven’t read P&P than C.S. Lewis’s books!! LOL!
I definitely want to re-read Mere Christianity. Another one I really enjoyed, and this was YEARS ago, was Surprised By Joy. I also love The Great Divorce. And of course, the Narnia books are definitely fun.
I love CS Lewis, I cannot wait to read this book to see what he has to say about CS Lewis.
Author
Hope you get a chance to read it. I highly, highly recommend it!!
Chronicles of Narnia!
This book intrigues me. I spent six weeks last summer at Oxford, walking where Lewis walked, attending conferences where his life and works played a central role, and dreaming. I even spent an afternoon sitting in the cemetery where he’s buried. I think I know what The Lord wants me to do with the rest of my life but I’m not absolutely certain, and because I’m not sure AND I’m lacking in confidence, I’m a little at loose ends as to where to go next.
Thanks for offering this book as a giveaway.
Sounds like a wonderful book!