This is a story that echoes the enchantment of childhood and the magic of our most-loved myths. This is a story about the familiar and foreign places we’ve traveled to in memory and fantasy and nostalgia, those whimsical places that hold brave knights and outwitted witches and rightfully-restored kingdoms. This is a story about stories and the beginnings of stories—about how there is nothing new under the sun, about how all stories come from the same place “‘in the bright light…. The bright lamppost light where all stories begin and end’” (260). Stories, ancient as the dawn of time, are intertwined in our hearts and minds and souls, and these stories—whether real or imagined—have the power to change us and inspire us and lead us to truth. They give us hope, they fill us up, and then they send us back to the real world to deal with a broken world’s realities. In the end, that’s the real power of stories: they open us to the world and to ourselves through the good parts and the bad parts, the hopeful peaks and the scary valleys. Without even trying, stories reveal truths and embed hope and spark joy.

Once Upon a Wardrobe takes the truths of C.S. Lewis’s early life, magically weaving facts into an imagined narrative of Oxford-student Megs and her dying, 8-year-old brother George, in order to highlight a beautiful message of finding joy and hope and the importance of stories. Unknowingly, Megs is the reluctant hero sent on a quest by George to find answers about fantastical Narnia. With her logical, mathematical mind and the urgency of young George’s heart condition, Megs is as desperate to understand and find the answers as she is about curing George’s weak heart. While she wants answers, he just wants stories—and adventure. In the end, it’s the adventure that Megs is brave enough to take that teaches her the most important lesson and the one that helps her through the most unbearable loss.

This story about a girl who finds herself to be a serendipitous storyteller is told in beautiful prose with lovely, lilting language. I really loved the story within the story, the marriage of fact and imagination. It was easy to get as bewitched by Jack and Warnie as George and Megs do, but there were definitely some moments that felt a bit too didactic and thematically redundant. But overall, I was enchanted and moved by this narrative that felt familiar in more ways than one, definitely reminiscent of the film Finding Neverland. ( )

Dnf @ 29%, just not in the mood now. I’ll try again later.

Dear my friends who like to read a book and if you the huge of Narnia fans too, this is a perfect book for you to read.

Let me tell you, I found this book by accident and when I read the summary, I was immediately attracted to want to read because Narnia, which became the most dominant attraction for me.
And once I started reading page after page, I fell in love with the narrative, with the characters in it. I fell in love with the siblings relationship between Megs and George. Megs is the best sister I've ever read. She loved George so much that she did her best to find the answer to the question George had always wanted to know from Mr. Lewis:

"Where did Narnia come from?"

because Megs is a student majoring in Mathematics and happens to be Mr. Lewis teaches at Magdalen, therefore George asked Megs to ask that question because he was very curious and really liked Narnia.

Journey of finding answers provides a new perspective for Megs and her world that was initially filled with uncertain calculations. In fact, exactness and imagination can coexist in harmony.

Mr. Lewis gave Megs his story bit by bit to share with George who was looking for the answer, and George was a smart kid with an extraordinary imagination and a great talent for drawing.

This book gives a very warm feeling as well as a nostalgic feeling when you first read the book. The feeling of finding pure happiness that is forgotten as time goes by.

With a narrative that is easy to understand and digest, this book provides a glimpse into the incredible love the Devonshire siblings had and how each story retold brings new perspectives and new happiness to both.

There are also times when Megs feels confused because of the intersection between rationality and imagination and myth. How she tries to make it orderly and rational but in the end she gets past that and tries to make peace.

"... These last few days I've been questioning the fundamental value of only logic. Of logic's ability to withstand what lies ahead in my life, in all our lives."

There are many valuable quotes in this book, one of which I like the most is:

"... Maybe we are each and every one of us born with our own stories, and we must decide how to tell those stories with our own life, or in a book. Or ... could it be that all our stories come from one larger story?"

Everyone has their own story and how everyone has their own way of telling their life.

Lastly, I. REALLY. LOVE. THIS. BOOK. ( )

This novel takes us down the path of ‘finding meaning’…in a variety of ways! It has a nostalgic holiday feel that made it a cozy winter read.

One of the main reasons why it is not 5 stars is it took me a long time to get through the first half. It activated the ‘please, just one more chapter’ mode only during the second half of the book.

If you are a fan of the Narnia books, and/or enjoy historical-biographical type fiction, definitely add this to your TBR. ( )

Once Upon a Wardrobe was just exquisite and so very heartwarming.
Five BIG stars! This is my second Patti Callahan book, and it definitely won't be my last.

After reading Becoming Mrs. Lewis and listening to the Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis podcast, this book feels like a glorious extension. I am captivated by Joy Davidman and her love story with C.S. Lewis and was happy to be emersed in their world again.

This beautiful story takes us to Worcester, England, where 8-year-old George is basically bedridden due to a heart disorder from birth. George spends his days reading and getting lost in his extraordinary imagination. Most recently, he has been captivated by the brand-new book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and he has persuaded his big sister, Megs, to find out where Narnia came from. Megs attends Oxford, where the author of this book, C.S. Lewis, teaches. Megs is all numbers and equations and not the bookish type, but for her beloved brother, that is not expected to see his ninth birthday, she is willing to get the answer.

Megs's journey is extremely touching, and she gets much more than she could have ever expected. I loved the way Callahan weaves subtle ties between the characters and the real C.S. Lewis's life and other important people in his life, like his mom and Joy. I was a mess of tears at the end of this book. The ending was lovely, heartwrenching, hopeful, and a beautiful reminder of the importance of stories. One of my favorite reads of 2022!!!!

"Reason is how we get to the truth, but imagination is how we find meaning."

"I'd believed— fool that I was— that because I knew this end was coming, I was prepared, that I would not grieve as I had. As if one can pre-grieve and get it out of the way. It's not true. Grief is the price I paid for loving fiercely, and that was okay, because there was no other choice but to love fiercely and fully."

"For a breath or two, I wonder about this magical world we live in. It's a mystery we can never understand. For a moment, a small and breath-holding moment, I know it to be true: there is more, something more I can't see, a vivid truth that can't be described by logic or words alone, a truth that delights the heart."

"Maybe we are each and every one of us born with our own stories, and we must decide how to tell those stories with our own life, or in a book . . . Or could it be that all our stories come from one larger story?"

― Patti Callahan, Once Upon a Wardrobe ( )