A hell of a trip to heaven

Most people have wondered what the afterlife is like. What does it feel like when there's no time and space? Can you feel colors? Can you hear the light? Is there a heaven and... is there a hell? If this topic interests you and you enjoy reading novels, then the book The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis is highly recommended.

Most will know this author from his books the Chronicles of Narnia, which have also been filmed. However, what not many people know is that Lewis has also written many other books.... and with depth!

The Great Divorce is considered one of his finest works and was published in 1945. It's a short but powerful book and is written from the readers perspective. That, combined with the fact that Lewis clearly states that he has no proof that his vision is real, makes the reader think that the book is written from Lewis' own experience. The story begins with a group of souls from hell taking a trip to heaven. Once they arrive in heaven, the light is almost unbearable, the blades of grass cut painfully into their feet, and the citizens of heaven provoke irritation. Each hell-inhabitant meets an old acquaintance, who has already obtained a place in heaven, and is given the opportunity to work out his earthly problems in order to also spend eternity in heaven. However, these conversations are so confronting that most can't bear it and voluntarily choose to go back to hell again. The book is written in a way that the main character catches the conversations of the other hell-inhabitants as he takes a walk with his own former acquaintance at the gates of heaven. Each conversation seems superficial, but if you pay close attention you will see that there is a deeper lesson to be learned from it. And although Lewis himself states that the book is fiction, every passage does something to make you think. It's almost certain that the fact that Lewis lived through two world wars has had an influence on the story. You also see this theme reappear in some passages and it gives the book extra profundity.

As I mentioned, the conversations make you think. They are both intriguing and confrontational. People can be stubborn and our ego often gets in the way. In our daily lives, we often encounter people who would rather hide behind the illusion than take an honest look at themselves. The hard truth is hard to swallow and the darkness within us may be too ugly to bear. Most of the time, however, we don't realize that the dark is not so scary at all once the light shines on it. We just have to be brave enough to turn on the light ourselves. No one else can do this for us. Lewis describes this in a wonderful way. No matter how much the inhabitants of heaven try to convince the visitors that confronting themselves only hurts for a moment, and what they get in return is wonderful and eternal, most are not strong enough to go through the pain. They prefer, as people often do, to choose the path of lowest resistance.

The Great Divorce is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys philosophizing about life....and the afterlife.

Love,

Joelle

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