Sheldon Vanauken

Sheldon Vanauken (August 4, 1914 – October 28, 1996) was an American author, best known for his autobiographical book A Severe Mercy (1977), which recounts his and his wife's friendship with C. S. Lewis, their conversion to Christianity, and dealing with tragedy. He published a sequel in 1985 titled Under the Mercy.

Vanauken was born Sheldon Frank Van Auken in Auburn, Indiana, the elder of two sons of a wealthy attorney, (Robert) Glenn Vanauken, and his wife Grace Merle (Hanselman) Vanauken. His parents were of German and Dutch descent, their grandparents having migrated to Indiana from eastern Pennsylvania and Columbiana County, Ohio. Vanauken was named for his two grandfathers, Frank Vanauken, a teacher, and Sheldon Fitch Hanselman, an attorney. His father was a self-made lawyer who became influential in local politics, served as a state senator, and owned the Indiana Broadcasting Company.

Vanauken grew up at the family home, "Glenmerle", (a composite of his parents' middle names) located on the south side of Carmel, Indiana; He attended Culver Military Academy, Staunton Military Academy and, for one year, Miami Military Academy in Florida. He earned his undergraduate degree from Wabash College in 1938, where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, and later attended Yale and Oxford Universities. He was interested in flying, and had his own small plane at Wabash which his father bought for him.

While at college, he dropped the "Frank" from his name. In later life, he was known to friends simply as "Van".

Van met Jean "Davy" Palmer Davis during his junior year at Wabash. She was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, on July 24, 1914, the daughter of Reverend Staley Franklin Davis (1877–1926), a prominent Methodist minister, and his wife Helen Larter (Fredericks) Davis (1885–1950), a teacher. Staley Davis was a native of Pataskala, Ohio, and Helen Davis of Newark, NJ. Davy's sister Helen Marjorie (1908–1991) was six years older and her brother Donald three years younger.

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