Fourteen Years Later
Reflections on C.S. Lewis' 'Till We Have Faces (and The Tragedy of Oli Ricker is Live)
When I was twenty and newly married, I was on a “read everything C.S. Lewis ever wrote” binge.
It was awesome. Screwtape Letters, Narnia, The Space Trilogy, Four Loves, A Pilgrim’s Regress… all the bangers.
And then I found a little known book, called ‘Till We Have Faces, that he wrote closer the end of his life. I’ve since heard that Lewis considered it his greatest work, but I can’t confirm whether or not that’s true.
Anyways, the book is a retelling of a Greek myth about Cupid and Psyche, and Lewis reframes the whole tale from a “lesser” character in the myth1. I won’t spoil the book, but here’s what you need to know.
I stayed up late as I neared the book’s end. Like all good readers, I had to know how the tale wrapped up before I could sleep.
Until the day I die, I will not forget that night.
I sat in bed, my wife asleep beside me. When I closed the book, the tale ended in such a way that I had to sit silent for a moment.
I cried.
I cried because the book became a mirror for me. ‘Till We Have Faces is a subtle tale, in many ways. The cookies are, as they say, not on the bottom shelf. Yet the Lord let me read and understand, and I sat in stunned silence. I knew, in that moment, that I was the main character, in my own way.
Her sin, was mine as well.
And I repented.
In the days that followed, I began to pray fervently one, simple, prayer: I asked God to help me write like that.
I ended my first book with the words “no answer” I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice? Only words, words; to be led out to battle against other words.
― C. S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces
Not Lewis
For the record, I wasn’t asking God to help me write “like Lewis”. As much as I love C.S. Lewis, the world doesn’t need another version of him for this century. God is doing a new work and he needs new people for that.
Lewis came, he served, and now he waits for the coming Kingdom with all the saints before him. By God’s grace, that’ll be my — and your — story one day too.
What I prayed for is that God would help me write in such a way that other people could:
Appreciate the excellence of the art.
Have moments in which they see themselves through the eyes of God.
That experience was fourteen years ago.
I already had a number of years (and a degree) of writing under my belt, yet God would still need to refine me before I could publicly release any art that was even in the ballpark of the meaning and power as Lewis’.
The Tragedy of Oli Ricker is my first book to be published. it is not as powerful as ‘Till We Have Faces, but it is my prayer that the Spirit of God will use it anyway.
More importantly, Oli is also the first of many books to not just come from my own imagination, but from Living Tome (LT) Publishing as a whole.
Something New
In the intervening years since reading Faces, God opened my imagination up to the idea of Him using me to foster a community of writers (not just make my own name great, like 20-something-Phil probably preferred).
LT Publishing is the result, and I’m so excited about the other works we’ll be producing in the coming months and years.
So, from everyone at the Living Room Disciple Media and LT Publishing, thank you. Thank you for purchasing The Tragedy of Oli Ricker and helping us get started. Thank you for praying and supporting on Substack.
Thank you.
If you haven’t already, you can pick up your copy of The Tragedy of Oli Ricker on eBook today. Just search the title on your favorite eBook platform, or use the link below for the Amazon page.
(Note, some platforms like Apple Books and B&N are delayed, but it will be up soon. If you don’t see it yet, just check back soon).
And for everyone wanting a physical copy, please know it’s coming soon!
Purchasing an eBook today gets us closer to quality physical and audiobook versions of the book, so please don’t wait!
Technically, he combines two characters into one.