I discovered George Macdonald from C.S. Lewis’ The Reading Life – a recent anthology on exactly what it sounds like. I’m sad to say I don’t see in him what Lewis did. From his Phantastes:
My spirits rose as I went deeper; into the forest; but I could not regain my former elasticity of mind. I found cheerfulness to be like life itself—not to be created by any argument. Afterwards I learned, that the best way to manage some kinds of pain filled thoughts, is to dare them to do their worst; to let them lie and gnaw at your heart till they are tired; and you find you still have a residue of life they cannot kill. So, better and worse, I went on….
Extracts 