In Shadowlands and Songs of Light: An Epic Journey into Joy and Healing, author Kevin Ott takes you on a journey deep into the inconsolable longing of life--those elusive stabs of longing, what C. S. Lewis called "Joy," that fill our lives. Readers discover how to turn that inconsolable longing into Inconsolable Praise that finds its deepest satisfaction in knowing God--an endless, epic cycle of discovery and re-discovery of God's love and wonder. Kevin's own journey to this Joy began with tragedy.

In 2010, when Kevin lost a family member unexpectedly, he sank into a wintry depression. When life seemed the darkest, something surprising happened: while exploring stacks of C.S. Lewis books and U2 albums, he experienced tremendous "stabs of Joy" in the midst of grief. This revelation not only pulled Kevin out of depression, it forever changed the way he experienced the love and joy of Christ.

Kevin takes you along the same journey of discovery as he dives into 18 of C. S. Lewis' most beloved classics and 13 albums by the legendary Irish rock band U2, all to answer one question: how do we actually experience the joy of Christ, not talk and theorize about it, during times of great suffering and darkness? Along the way, the book uncovers fascinating common ground between Lewis and U2 and their ideas about joy, sorrow, and deep longing for God.

In Shadowlands and Songs of Light, readers will:

• Explore some of the most delightful and profound moments in eighteen C. S. Lewis books, including the entire Chronicles of Narnia series and many of his other most beloved fiction and non-fiction classics
• Dive into at least one song from every studio album that U2 has released since 1980--over 36 years of music
• Enjoy a curated playlist format in which the book doubles asa U2 playlist. Each chapter focuses on at least one U2 song, and, track-by-track, chapter-by-chapter, a 16-song playlist is created. Each track of the playlist summarizes the major point from each chapter and works as a musical reminder. (No actual audio tracks are included in the book. Readers must download the music onto their own devices from iTunes or other music platforms and build the playlist using the book's guide of songs.)
• Journey through eight "Stages of Joy" that turn the inconsolable longing of life into Inconsolable Praise
• Learn how to find deep rest for the heart in a "House of Longing" for God
• Discover why true Joy is not what the world says it is, but it is something more deeply rooted in the spirit than intense Happiness or Pleasure--something that can coexist with grief and thrive in the darkest trials
• See from the perspective of music theory brought vividly to life in layperson's terms why the music of U2 is so emotionally powerful and how it serves as a perfect analogy for Lewis' concept of Joy
• Find inspiration from the personal stories of U2, especially the tragedies that engulfed their youth in Dublin, and shows how they worked through that grief and discovered Joy in the process--a Joy that has kept the band together for 35 years and still drives their music today