It opens with a prologue in 1926 when the family lived in Bronx, New York. Joy's father, of Ukrainian descent is a teacher who demands perfection and is harsh. At the age of only 11 she is already a sophomore, but never good enough for him. At night she and her 7 year old brother sneak out and go to the Bronx Zoo where she pets a lion. Chapter 1 begins in 1946 in Ossining, NewYork....."The world it changes in an instant. I've seen it over and over the way which peopleforge through the days believing they have it all figured out, protected inside a safe life. Yet there is no figuring life out, or any way that protects us from the tragedies of the heart." In a quick summary Joy has been an atheist, then converted skeptical Christian and married to Bill in a tumultuous marriage. He is an alcoholic and abusive, a cheater, but she tries to persevere. She write to CS and in 1950 he answers her letter from England. This was back when people wrote letters. This begins years of contact as penpals, becoming friends. Joy will go to England alone in 1952 leaving her two sons behind with her husband, their father and her cousin who had come to live with them. She is not in the best of health and hopes to recuperate while staying with a friend and continuing to write. She will meet CS in person. Ultimately she will return to America, her visa is expired. But she will divorce Bill and return to England with her sons. She will have deep personal friendship with CS and his brother Warnie. They will ultimately marry but keep it a secret of sorts and continue to live separately. As a divorced woman, she was not acceptable to the Church of England. Joy will become ill and in the hospital they will marry again, the ceremony prepared by a priest and former student of CS, making it legal in the eyes of the church. She will never return to the US and CS will ultimately adopt her sons as his own.
The author will reference this as "the improbable love story" and after reading this, I couldn't have said it better.
