Elisabeth Elliot: A Life

by Lucy S.R. Austen

An In-Depth Biography on the Life and Work of Missionary Elisabeth Elliot

Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015) is one of the most widely known Christians of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. After the death of her husband, Jim, and four other missionaries at the hands of Waorani tribesmen in Ecuador, Elliot famously returned to live among the same people who had killed her husband. Her legacy, however, extends far beyond these events. In the years that followed, Elliot became a prolific writer and speaker, touching the lives of countless people around the world.

In this single-volume biography, Lucy S. R. Austen takes readers on an in-depth journey through the life of Elisabeth Elliot―her birth to missionary parents, her courtship and marriage to Jim Elliot, her missions work in Ecuador, and her private life and public work after she returned to the United States. Through Elliot’s example of love for God and obedience to his commands, readers will ponder what it means to follow Jesus.

Single-Volume Biography on Elisabeth Elliot: Author Lucy S. R. Austen explores Elliot’s professional articles, books, and radio programs, as well as personal scrapbooks, journals, and letters
Engaging: Tells the complex and moving life story of one of the most well-known Christian missionaries
A Great Resource for Students: Thoroughly researched book provides information about Elliot beyond her work with the Waorani people and her first husband’s death

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Christian, Biography Memoir, Christianity, Audiobook, Faith

624 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2023

About the author

Lucy S. R. Austen (BA, University of Washington) is a writer, editor, and teacher who has spent over a decade studying source materials on Elisabeth Elliot. She has served on the editorial staff of the Spring Hill Review, contributed to various publications, and developed two high school English textbooks on prominent Christian authors. S. R. Austen lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband and children.

Reviews

[Dr. David Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

My late Aunt, Betty Steele used to urge me to read biographies, especially missionary biographies. In a strange irony, the latest biography on my reading list is Elisabeth Elliot: A Life by Lucy S.R. Austen. The ironic twist is due to my late aunt’s acquaintance with Elizabeth Elliot when she served at HCJB in Quito, Ecuador. Elliot is known best as the wife of Jim Elliot, one of the five men slain by Auca Indians, the people group they longed to reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ. On January 8, 1956, Elliot and Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, and Pete Fleming were speared to death.

Nate Saint’s son, Steve Saint retells the tale of his father’s death in his book, The End of the Spear. Lucy S.R. Austen tells another story - the story of a young woman whose husband was abruptly taken in the early years of their marriage. Austen presents readers with a comprehensive biographical look at one of the most well-known Christian women of the twentieth century.

Elisabeth Elliot: A Life is an inside look at a woman who endured gut-wrenching tragedy, yet persisted in her dream of winning lost people to Christ. Austen does not spare any details. She helps readers understand what made Elisabeth Elliot tick. She recounts the full spectrum of faith in Elliot’s life - both struggling and resilient.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Elliot’s life was her commitment to complementarianism. Austen cites from Elliot’s book, Let Me Be a Woman: “God created male and female, the male to call forth, to lead, initiate and rule, and the female to respond, follow, adapt, submit … Within the Godhead, there is both the just and legitimate authority of the Father and the willing and joyful submission of the Son.”

Elliot’s views on marriage struck the proper biblical balance: “The man and woman who recognize that they are heirs together of the grace of life move in time to the rhythm, accepting their boundaries as do the waves, yielding their self-life to the Will of life Universal … moving always toward the final fulfillment and joy - the perfect Music - which is the will of God.”

Elisabeth Elliot: A Life is a riveting look at a remarkable Christian woman. She penned twenty-eight books, spoke around the world, and left a legacy that will stand the test of time. Elliot’s life was not perfect - not even close. She, like every follower of Christ, was a sinner saved by grace. Her life is a testament to the gospel of God and will continue to shine forth for generations!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been the highlight of my summer. I’m fairly certain it will be my favorite read of 2023. As a young adult, I was rather enthralled with Elisabeth Elliot, so reading this biography was comfortingly nostalgic while also giving me a deeper and far more fair and complex perspective on her life and work. I’m not often drawn to biographies of Christians since they sometimes feel to me as though they unnecessarily place their subjects on a pedestal in the name of commending the gospel. This biography does no such thing, and as a result, I’m more reassured as a Christian by the portrayal of a faithful and all-too-human saint who has gone ahead. Loved this book and highly recommend it.

[Esta Doutrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite of the biographies of Elizabeth Elliot. The writing and research was excellent. Austen traces the arch of her life well. I wasn’t heavily influenced by Elizabeth Elliot as some were, so I felt warmth and kinship in certain parts of her story and alarm and clarity in others. I was struck by the fact that much of the work she is most known for (at least when I was a teen) was what (I now feel) she was the most unqualified and in theological error in. And many of the lesser known beliefs and struggles of her life have the gleam of deep faithfulness and honesty. Are prescriptive answers always more popular than honest wrestling and nuance? That was a question I was left with.

[Ervina Yoder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this biography in the middle period between having read (and adored) Vaughn’s Becoming Elisabeth Elliot and not yet opening Being Elisabeth Elliot. At 600 pages, it’s no small read but I finished it in two days because it is so genuinely fascinating and well written. I have many mixed feelings about the recent, more exhaustive coverage of Elliot’s private life. In many ways it feels disappointing, like I’ve discovered a longtime friend and mentor has been keeping secrets from me. Her life was hard, her struggles many, and her marriages to difficult men a lonely and heavy burden. In other ways I am encouraged by the evidences of her humanity as well as her willingness to be continually sanctified while remaining steadfast in Christ. I am sad for her suffering though still very grateful for her voice. A good reminder, I think, for us not to place our full trust in a person or expect perfectly accurate theological authority from them. Should our role models ever be put on a pedestal? Absolutely not. Can we still learn from them despite their failures and shortcomings? Undoubtedly so.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This biography is a masterpiece. I grew up hearing so much about Elisabeth Elliot. Her pen shaped much of the ideologies of being a Christian female in the 1990s-2000s, and while I never read her books, I grew up admiring her legacy and her ideas. As I’ve grown older, I’ve grown more and more aware of some inconsistencies between what she shared and what I would endorse as biblical.

And so I came to this biography interested and skeptical. This book is so well done. It’s never boring, it flows very well, it’s so thorough and obviously well researched, and best of all, the author acknowledges and brings many of her inconsistencies to the table for discussion. As I read through the book, I felt like I was getting an honest look into her life without the masks. It was very vulnerable in places, and based on her journal entries, I’d say this is exactly the kind of biographical record Elisabeth Elliot would want to have to document her life. Not one that would simply praise her, but one that would ask honest questions and dig into the dissonance all while pointing the reader back to God.

This book inspired growth and challenged me in so many ways. I still disagree with Elliot in all the same ways as I did before, but even with that, I find I admire her tenacity and her resilience, I can’t help but be thankful for her witness even when she didn’t have it “all together.” It’s such an encouragement to look at this 625 page snapshot of this incredible woman’s life and see that she struggled and grappled with some of the same things I wrestle with today. It was validating to see the author point out some of the points I took issue with, but I can’t fail to recognize that had she say quiet until she had it all figured out, she’d have never touched so many lives. Instead, she was willing to grow and be grown in the public eye, and she journaled so thoroughly, the willingness and determination to seen truth was palpable, and a person can’t help but admire her doggedness for seeking truth.

This book is so well done. I thoroughly enjoyed it. A special thanks to Crossway and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Abigail Westbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a couple years after reading the two-volume biography by Vaughn, and came to it wondering if anything new could be told about Elisabeth’s life. The answer is yes. This book feels more thoroughly researched, and though it lacks the emotional quality of Vaughn’s books (due to not having access to most of EE’s journals), I would say it is a more proper biography on the whole. The author does insert some opinions on theological matters, but overall this is a more zoomed-out view of Elisabeth’s life (even to the point of calling her “Elliot” through all the adult portion of her story - it feels impersonal but also fits the tone of the book).

I really appreciated that this volume does not skip over the years of EE’s third marriage and the sunset of her ministry, telling them with a mix of honesty and compassion that I’m sure must have been challenging to convey. I was not left with nearly as many questions as I was after Vaughn’s second book. It seems that Austen had more access to Lars and was able to paint a fuller picture of him as a person, both strengths and weaknesses. But it does surprise me that, unlike Vaughn, she made no mention of Lars’ conversion experience in 2019 - I’m curious why that was omitted.

I also liked that Austen was careful to mention each of EE’s books in the timeline of when they were written, giving a clear synopsis of each. Knowing what she was going through while writing each shines a lot of light as to why she wrote what she did and how her views changed as she matured and entered different circumstances. I’m quite sure the difficulties of her third marriage significantly shaped the way she wrote and spoke in her final years of ministry, which is a sad thing to ponder.

I’m glad to have read Vaughn’s books first, then this one. I’d recommend that order to anyone else who wants a well-rounded picture of Elisabeth’s life. Both biographies have unique things to share and both offer a valuable look at this amazing, brave, strong, imperfect woman who has impacted so many lives. I am again encouraged at the way God works in and through broken people for His glory, and that gives me hope for my own life.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating, meticulously researched, and thorough biography. I read this after reading the two volumes by Ellen Vaughn, and if you’re interested in reading all three I think that is the way to do it. Vaughn’s two volumes are more emotional and immediate, as she had the exclusive access to all of Elliot’s available journals, and she also weaves in her own personal connection to Elliot‘s story. This volume by Lucy Austen is a more detached and academic read that covers Elliot’s entire life in 525 pages (with thousands of end notes, many of which were quite interesting).

After the Vaughn biographies I had a few specific questions – about Elliot’s finances (how did she finance her time in Ecuador and her early years in New England?) and her seeming emotional abandonment of her daughter after Jim’s death. Austen fills in those details, along with more page time devoted to Elliot’s third marriage and later career.

Austen’s biography is better paced, the events and relationships that took up a shorter amount of time have less pages devoted to them, etc. Austen also mentions each book Elliot published (as it fits into the narrative of her life) and gives a succinct summary of it.

I really appreciated the way Austen took a less emotional approach to Elliott‘s life, and that she sketched out more details from Elliott‘s third marriage through the end of her life, whereas Vaughn only dedicated a handful of pages to that time (Austen heavily quotes from an interview she conducted with Elliot‘s third husband, and I do not think Vaughn had similar access to him, or at least had less fruitful results from her interview). That said, there are several places in this book where Austen has to admit that she does not have any information on a period of time or situation because she does not have access to the complete journals – and relaying those pertinent details are where the Vaughn biographies shine. Neither biographer attempts to either put Elliot on a pedestal or drag her through the mud. Both attempt to give a realistic look at an imperfect individual.

If you want a well rounded look at Elisabeth Elliot, I highly recommend reading the two volumes from Vaughn and then this from Austen. Absolutely fascinating look at a very interesting woman – I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her life, though I disagree with a lot of her (late in life) beliefs and actions.

[Gina Dalfonzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review here: https://dearstrangethings.substack.co...

[Michele Morin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I had never met her, when Elisabeth Elliot passed away in 2015, the loss felt very personal. Her voice (on the radio and in her books) was among the most influential factors in my following life, and since I have read just about everything she ever wrote, I didn’t expect to encounter much new information in Elisabeth Elliot: A Life, the new biography from Crossway.

The big surprise I found was Lucy S.R. Austen’s ability to contextualize Elisabeth’s life within the scope of history. Although I tend to think of her still as a “contemporary” voice, we are not the same Body of Christ that we were at her death in 2015–and even less so than when her public ministry ended in 2004. Since then, the #MeToo movement has changed the way the culture at large receives Elisabeth’s teaching on biblical submission. Add to this a prevailing disillusionment with purity culture that has impacted the way millennials and Gen Zs respond to Elisabeth’s teaching on dating relationships and her own courtship with Jim Elliot.

This aerial view of 88 years underscored for me the weight of suffering and disappointment Elliot took in stride and that served as the foundation for the convictions that made her one of the best-known Christians of the 20th and early 21st century. The book demonstrates that she spent her career chiseling a solid theology from the bedrock of God’s character as revealed in the pages of Scripture, a foundation that is undoubtedly the reason she ultimately found grace to face the terror of dementia with a quiet heart.

In the process of writing, Austen has followed Elisabeth Elliot’s own standard for creating biography, “to discover, not to construct,” and to “tell the truth.” Extensive research and scrupulous attention to detail have resulted in a faithful portrayal of an exceptional woman’s walk with God, her growth process, and the great hope of her faith that continues to stand as a challenge and motivation to me.

[Katelynn O'Lessker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I understand that we are in an age in which it is a badge of honor for it to be said that a particular biography is “not hagiography,” but perhaps that should not be the only merit by which a biography is judged.

To begin with, this biography was too long, especially for not having the full-access to Elliot’s complete journals. Several seasons of her life seemed to take up disproportionate amounts of time in the book, while transitions between seasons felt jarring. While the amount of details given shows a commendable diligence in the author’s research, they ultimately do not serve the narrative well, simply because of how ubiquitous they are throughout the book.

There was far too much of the author’s conjecture, and an undertone throughout the book that she was out to read modern-day sensibilities into Elliot’s life. From diagnosing her with depression following Jim’s death, and trying to shade Elliot in as a thin complementarian, to commenting on thoughts or habits that the author believed to be legalistic or narrow-minded. What was particularly frustrating was that all of those conclusions may have been true about Elliot, but given that the author chose to point them out to the reader through her own commentary rather than allowing reader’s to come to their own conclusions was rather wearisome and left me with the feeling that she had a particular motive or angle in mind while telling the story of Elliot’s life.

I don’t know how much liberty the audiobook narrator took with her voice inflections, but she came a cross as condescending in the switch between reading Elliot’s quotes and the author’s comments. Perhaps that is another reason as to why it felt like there was a critical undertone to the book.

I can understand the author likely felt that she was doing just as Elisabeth Elliot said she tried to do in her writing, especially of biographies, which was to “write what [she] know[s]” but in this case, it was hard to tell what the author knew to be true, or what she simply had assumed.

For anyone interested in reading about Elisabeth Elliot, I would say that the two volume set by Ellen Vaughn is a far better investment of your time and will prove to be more profitable. Vaughn’s biographies were certainly not hagiography either, but she excels at painting a full picture and allowing the reader to come to their own conclusion about Elliot, flaws and all.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elisabeth Elliot: A Life by Lucy S. R. Austen, out June 27 from Crossway.

To be honest, this took some time to grow on me. With 600 pages to get through, there was plenty of time 😉 I prefer my nonfiction to be told in narrative style, and especially when reading about Elliot’s early life, the writing here felt straightforward, primarily concerned with sharing facts rather than telling a story. However, the beauty of this book is in the unfolding of a life of a very real, flawed, steadfast woman who loved and trusted in her God.
Although she is most well-known for being a missionary, prolific writer, and speaker, what most stood out to me after reading Austen’s work were the hidden examples of faithfulness—retreating to her journal to work out interpersonal difficulties with the Lord rather than choosing to gossip and joyful service to her husbands even when it was hard, just to name a couple.
I also was greatly encouraged by her view of her own contribution as a missionary (and it may not be what you think).
I didn’t know if I really needed another book on Elisabeth Elliot following Ellen Vaughn’s 2020 release, but it turns out, I did. The scale of this and the honest portrayal of a flawed servant of the Lord ultimately causes me to praise him more because he chooses to use broken vessels to show his glory. I think Betty herself would approve. Thank you Netgalley and Crossway for the advanced review copy.

[Abigail Rehmert · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read just one biographical book about Betty, I recommend this one. It has the best context!

I finished "Becoming Elisabeth Elliot" with questions and no closure. I also wondered how "A Life" could have new information. It definitely did! It draws not only from Elisabeth's journals, but her letters to her family, letters written to her, interviews from people who knew her, and the paper trail left by a prolific published author.

Read "Becoming Elisabeth Elliot" and "Being Elisabeth Elliot" (based mostly on her personal journals) only if you want to become well versed on the weeds of her life from more angles. They are great complementary books to the full, rich work of "A Life." Most of us wouldn't want to be remembered only by our personal journals. As my mom says, we mostly journal when we're at a low point.

I'm really surprised more people haven't heard of this biography, "A Life"! It's very well done. It helps bring closure and a perspective on her overall legacy. It left me with more of a heart of praise to God, rather than pity for Elisabeth.

Praise God for His mysterious ways in using mere hearts that offer love to Him, like humble, honest Elisabeth! I'm thankful He carried her to the end.

[Timothy Hoiland · Rating 4 out of 5]

The portrait of Elisabeth Elliot that emerges in Lucy S. R. Austen’s nuanced, thought-provoking new biography is of a woman with a sharp mind, an innate sense of curiosity, and a boundless zeal. It’s also the portrait of a woman whose outlook changed continually—amidst apparent contradiction—throughout her life. After reading Elisabeth Elliot: A Life, I find myself admiring Elliot in ways I never had before, even while remaining conflicted about key aspects of her work and legacy. In the end, though, I’m left wishing Elliot were alive so I could give her a hug.

Read the rest of my review at timhoiland.com

[Abby Helmuth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is phenomenal - so well written, thoroughly researched, nuanced, and gently truthful. Yes, it’s long, but to me it was well worth the time and effort to read. I was encouraged and inspired by some parts of Elliot’s life and faith; saddened by others.

“The ripples from our lives matter deeply, but they are not everything. The core of reality lies in the character of God: We are loved with an everlasting love. We are held in the everlasting arms.”

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly captivating.

[Maria Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished it as the plane was almost to Ecuador ♥️ A very comprehensive biography on Elisabeth Elliot and her ministry. The words of hers written in this book were deeply encouraging to me. The Lord is faithful and kind to those who love Him.

"He has never promised to solve our problems. He has not promised to answer our questions. He has certainly not answered mine. He has promised to go with us in this life. He has revealed Himself in His Word to be a sovereign, and at the same time an inexorably loving God. I can testify this morning that He has been that to me. But time and again I have had to acknowledge that nothing I knew about Him was adequate to cover the things which in honesty I had to face."

“Reading her Bible in the evenings by candlelight, she gradually came to the conclusion that the word missionary did not appear in the Bible, that instead, the Scriptures talked about witnesses. Now a passage from her special chapter in Isaiah came alive in a new way, and she wrote it in her journal. "You are my witnesses, declares the LORD, 'and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed. nor shall there be any after me (Isa. 43:10). Perhaps to be a missionary was ultimately to be a witness to the nature and character of God. A witness observes and reports. This she could try to do. The discovery of this verse in this context produced a lifelong paradigm shift for her.”

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee.” Isaiah 43:2 (her epitaph)

[Laura Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love biographies. This is one of the most deftly written, human portraits of a person I have ever read. I grew up putting Elizabeth Elliot on pedestal- I even wrote her a letter as a GA in 4th or 5th grade and still cherish the reply. But I didn’t know her at all- I certainly didn’t know her struggles, her questions, her errors- the deep, and abiding suffering that characterized most of her life. Austen lets us see all of Elliot’s life- her grief, her wrestlings with hard questions, her weaknesses and mistakes- some
of which led to her very real suffering in later marriages. But she also wrote about the triumphs, the treasured friendships, the rich and varied ministry and the Lord’s provision for her at the end. I wept in the final pages.

What I’ve pondered most of all is that Elliot’s REAL life prevents me from putting her on a pedestal any longer, while simultaneously strengthening my faith in the two truths she related at the beginning of every radio program- “You are loved with an everlasting love. That’s what the Bible says. And underneath are the everlasting arms.”

This book is worth reading- even if it takes a long time.

[Lynette Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book helped me to understand Elisabeth Elliot's life better, and balanced out the perceptions I previously had of her and the various people in her life. It was just a little too in-depth for me, so I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as Becoming Elisabth Elliot. The author often inserts paragraphs of her own interpretation of Elliots thoughts, actions, or theology. Some of these I found very helpful in understanding Elliot and the time she lived in better, while others seemed to take away from her story. I skimmed over many paragraphs later in the book that detailed where she spoke and taught and the details of her speeches and lessons and all the books she wrote. I was more interested in her thoughts and feelings and relationships. I won't read this book again, but I'm glad I read it.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that’s full of surprises. Elliot’s personal and theological journey is fascinating—from the Brethren churches to the Episcopal church, from a fundamentalist high school in the South to Wheaton and SIL to reading Tillich and Freud in the jungles of Ecuador. Elliot’s mature stance on Israel and her nuanced writings on gender and sexuality were unknown to me before this book, seeing as I’d only read ‘Passion and Purity’ before.

Austen’s both a strong writer and a thorough historian. This biography is worth your time.

[Blessing Bloodworth (naptimereaders) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fascinating account is told through a myriad of family letters and journals. Austen is journalistic in her writing: instead of her own opinions and analysis of Elliot, she uses this array of letters and journals to let Elliot’s life story speak for itself.
In all, it’s revelatory of Elisabeth's unshakeable faith which would carry her through the many rough seas of her life.
This is an exhaustively detailed and encompassing biography, revealing Elisabeth to be a woman who was saturated in the Word and clung to her Lord through prayer.
I wasn’t too thrilled with some of the details surrounding the beginning stages of Jim + Elisabeth’s relationship. Despite consistently telling Elisabeth that he was convinced that God had called him to remain single, Jim still romantically pursued Elisabeth and emotionally strung her along. I was also sadden to read of some of the difficulties in her marriage to Lara Gren.

As someone who grew up hearing the voice of Elliot through her Gateway to Joy radio program, I have been enjoying the journey through this biography which reveals Elliot to be deeply human. Yes, she was a woman of tremendous faith and commitment to the Lord, but she also struggled with her own sin and challenges and doubts. Pick up a copy of this book and spend some time getting to know a woman whose story will inevitably impact your own walk with the Lord.

Thank you to @crosswaybooks and @netgalley for the complimentary ebook in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Barbara Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I considered Elisabeth Elliot my “mentor from afar” for most of my adult life. I discovered her books in college, four decades ago, beginning with Through Gates of Splendor, Shadow of the Almighty, and The Journals of Jim Elliot. I’ve read almost all her books ever since, some of them several times, as well as her newsletters.

Most of you know that Elisabeth was the wife of Jim Elliot, one of five missionaries killed when trying to reach a tribe in Ecuador then known as “Aucas” (now known by their name for themselves, Waorani). A few years later, Elisabeth, her young daughter Valerie, and Rachel Saint, sister of one of the other missionaries, were invited to live with the Waorani. After writing Through Gates of Splendor about “Operation Auca” and the five missionaries, then her husband’s biography, and several articles, Elisabeth began to feel God called her into a ministry of writing. She and Valerie came back to the USA, where Elisabeth spent decades writing, speaking, and teaching.

Elisabeth’s public ministry ended in 2004 when her dementia began to make travel and speaking impossible. She passed away in 2015 at the age of 88. She’s regarded as one of the most influential Christian women of the last 100 years.

It was only a matter of time before biographers started telling her story. In Elisabeth Elliot: A Life, Lucy S. R. Austen harmonizes Elisabeth’s public writing with the journals and letters Austen had access to, which I feel is the strength of this book.

Elisabeth never put herself on a pedestal. She was quite honest about her faults and foibles. Austen takes care to present Elisabeth realistically, not idealistically.

However, I felt that Austen often sat in judgment on Elisabeth’s writing, criticizing such things as her approach to discerning God’s will in her early years, Jim’s behavior as they dated, the difference between what Elisabeth wrote in her journals and what she wrote publicly thirty years later, and so on. I have questions marks and notes of “author judgment” in several margins.

I knew much about Elisabeth’s earlier life from her books and writing. I was looking forward to learning more about what happened after she came back to the USA. But Elisabeth’s earlier life takes up two-thirds of the book, with her last fifty-two years filling only a third. That may be due to several factors: people’s interest in her missionary career; a number of questions and issues about that time; the decreasing number of family letters sent. And then, a lot of the narrative about her time in the States reads like lists of where she traveled and spoke, along with whom she visited and who visited her.

I was heartened to see some of her questions and struggles that emphasized that she was in many ways an ordinary Christian woman dealing with some of the same issues we all do. I was sad to hear of serious issues in her second and particularly third marriages.

Elisabeth seemed, by all accounts, to be a classic introvert. I was sad to see that introversion was thought to be unspiritual in her early life and that she fought against it rather than seeing it as the way God made her.

I was surprised to read that she thought speaking was not her main ministry and, in fact, took away from her writing ministry. I’m thankful to have heard her speak in person twice.

Her views on many things changed and solidified over the years, as happens with most of us. Her journals and sometimes her letters were ways of processing her thoughts. I wouldn’t be too alarmed by some of the views she seemed to hold or wrestled with along the way.

As it happened, I was midway through the book when I turned on the replay of Elisabeth’s radio program, Gateway to Joy, on BBN Radio one morning. She was doing a series called “Jungle Diaries,” reading from her journals of her time in Ecuador. She said she had not looked at them in forty years. She commented that people think she “has it all together,” but her diaries assured that she did not then, and she still did not claim to.

She also commented that her “theology has been developed” since those writings, but what she wrote was raw and real and honest. Then she mentioned that she was shocked to read of her desire to go to the Aucas. She “had no recollection of wanting to go to the Aucas, certainly not that soon after Jim died” (“Jungles Diaries #1:Journal Beginnings,” aired October 16, 2023).

I was quite surprised to hear her say that, as her books indicated that she strongly wanted to go. But then I thought about my own life forty years ago. I was four years married and would soon be expecting my first child. I remember where I worked, where we went to church, who our friends were. But there’s more I don’t remember than I do.

So I feel that Austen often made too much of the differences between what Elliot wrote over a span of forty or more years. But I think Austen tried to be faithful with the material she had.

In writing circles, we’re often told that we might have a perfectly fine manuscript that may be rejected because a similar book has just been published. For that reason, I was surprised to see Austen’s biography come out in-between the two parts of Ellen Vaughn’s “authorized” biography. Perhaps the publishers felt there was sufficient interest in Elisabeth to warrant two biographies of her published so close together. If so, I think they were right.

But I hope sometime someone writes a simple biography of Elisabeth, not analyzing or explaining or annotating, but just telling her story.

One of the main take-aways from listening to or reading about Elisabeth is that her supreme desires were to know and obey God. She was no-nonsense, yet she had a sense of humor. She was sentimental, but she wasn’t unfeeling. She wasn’t perfect, and she wouldn’t say this, but I think she went further than many of us in her spiritual journey.

[Amy Kannel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I normally do not enjoy biography but I could not put this one down. By turns maddening, inspiring, perplexing, convicting, heartbreaking--Elliot was so much more complex than I knew.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm planning to read this because for a time in my early 20s, I really admired Elliot & followed her work closely. This article convinces me that reading this biography could help me sift & leave behind beliefs/influence I don't realize are still affecting me, and to empathize with a strong but flawed woman who sadly & unnecessarily lived those out to the end:

https://therevealer.org/elisabeth-ell...

TLDR on the article: Elliot's third husband was very, very controlling & abusive emotionally, and Elliot thought she had to stay in that to be a godly woman and Christian. (I disagree, abuse is a violation of a marriage! leave!) Her family even attempted to help her leave, but she returned to him.

Another newer article, thorough & compassionate while critiquing: https://laurarbnsn.substack.com/p/if-...

Update: I'm close to finishing Part 1: 1926-1952. What comes across to me most is that she was very sincerely wanting to honor the Lord with her life, and had some beliefs that made that feel impossible to her: thinking it was on her to be perfect; thinking God revealed his will in near-magical leadings to the individual person, not more 'ordinary' desires & interests. Like all that anguish about whether or not to get married; Jim Elliot sounds narcissistic in his actions in that whole time frame. I don't like him. And mostly I pity Elisabeth at that stage.

Update after finishing part 2, her 11 years in Ecuador, living with the Waorani (the group who, believing them to be cannibals, killed 5 white Anglo missionaries including Elisabeth's husband), language learning, and a lot of sorrow and loneliness. Elliot in her early 30s was doing a lot of sifting and what would today likely be called deconstruction: questioning platitudes and simple understanding of God and the Bible and realizing cultural and personal lenses must be examined with humility. She moves away from triumphant narratives like her biography of Jim and telling of his death were, towards more complex, less certain answers while retaining faith in Jesus and scripture. I find that I like her a lot at this stage.

Part 3 described the longest years of her life, over 30 married to Lars Gren. In my 20s, around 1995 or 1996, I saw Elliot speak and as the book described, her husband ran the business side of her speaking with book tables and controlling her schedule and set up. I chose "controlling" intentionally, because it sounds like she believed she needed to silently endure every whim Lars had, and he took that role and dominated the rest of her life. When she developed dementia, others eventually to step in to get him to stop touring and having her speak. It sounds awful and ungodly-- and yet during that marriage is when she wrote most of her books on marriage, men and women, and on endurance in the Christian life. Because, apparently, she was trying to make sense of her (I believe mistaken and harmful) views of gender and marriage, believing she should silently submit to anything he wanted. It sounds like she lost herself, and he didn't even see it. He too thought that's how marriage "should" be. I feel sad for her, but crushed that she perpetuated and taught such behavior in the name of Christ.

Why 4 stars instead of 5? I think the author was insightful and straightforward, but she skipped mention of the family intervention that got Elliot away from Gren for a time. I don't know if being an unauthorized biography meant she wasn't told that, but she clearly had spoken with and even stayed with Elliot and other family, so Im not sure why it's not mentioned. Austen didn't sugarcoat the problems in general.

Also, sometimes I found some of her wording a bit hard to understand. Overall though, very well written and a compelling read, given my background and the influence this woman had on my early adulthood.

One interesting thing I learned: Elliot read very widely, all kinds of authors, fiction and nonfiction, and sought to write well and reflecting the extensive literature she knew. She also maintained some close friendships across religious groups. I admired those things about her.

[Kacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not an Elliot fan girl but I was very impacted by her book, Passion and Purity as a teenager, and was surprised to find her a much more complex character than I’d previously realized. I loved her complexity and am really still aghast at her third marriage.

Some things I have been pondering:

How was someone so central to THE most famous evangelical missionary story internally so critical of the missions industry and oversimplified missionary narratives?

How were two of the most prayed for missionaries (Elliot’s words) unable to work together and make it through conflict? Would it have been better if Elliot had stood up for herself instead of leaving the Wao?

How did she shift from a period of being on the outskirts of evangelicalism and disillusioned with it become such a central figure within evangelical culture in later years?

How could she be so passionately firm in conservative complementariansim and yet have also been the more public figure in at least her last marriage, and a preacher (she might not have put it that way), a writer (to male audiences too), work without male missionary presence in tribal areas, etc.

Did her theology drive her into and prevent her from seeking change in a third marriage characterized by anger and control?

I am fascinated.

[Megan Revis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sucked me in. Turns out Elisabeth Elliot was in fact a real human being, sin and doubts and ups and downs and all, and obediently followed Jesus in faith and trust her whole life. I finish the book with a desire and a hope for my life to also be a testimony of God’s love and faithfulness.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much appreciate this well-written biography of Elisabeth Elliot ~ I'm not sure I can say I thoroughly "enjoyed" it, though.

At 63, I am in that demographic that grew up with Jim Elliot as an icon of the perfect christian martyr, and Elisabeth as the icon of christian womanhood. I read and was influenced by her books in my 20s and 30s. I am very grateful for her Gateway to Joy radio broadcast, when I was far from family and raising two young sons. I listened faithfully and printed out many of the transcripts to read over again later. I was desperate for a faithful older woman to encourage me in my walk with Christ, and to be reminded daily that I was loved with an everlasting love, and that underneath are the everlasting arms. I read her biography of Amy Carmichael as we were pondering a shift into missions as a family. In so many ways she was a great and godly influence on me, and I am grateful for her faithfulness.

But I cannot say I thoroughly "enjoyed" this (but is anyone else's life there for us to "enjoy" or not?). I think this was mostly because I remembered such a high degree of certainty in much of her writing and speaking, but when listening in to her thoughts in her journals, this was not always the case (and it probably wouldn't be the case for anyone else, I know -- but she had SUCH a broad platform).

***I very much appreciate Austen's sharing and highlighting how Elliot changed the emphases of events over her life ~~ that she did not always feel the certainty she wrote of early on. That is so encouraging!!

To a degree,though, damage had already been done, in my opinion. More people that have read of Jim's certainty that their in-person contact with the Waorani was clearly God's word and direction for the moment, have probably not read her later thoughts that it was not the case, but rather other circumstances and desires pushed their timing, or that the wives' all had real checks and concerns about the timing of the contact, etc... Her very certain stances on dating, courtship, marriage, were not always what she had practiced, yet she billed them as the only right, biblical way to live. And the broader truth of her and Jim's "courtship" vs. her writings was saddening ~~ as I was reading, I kept exclaiming to my husband, "there were enough red flags here for Elisabeth to make a quilt!"

I think that's one of my larger take-aways from this biography: sadness.

I admire SO MUCH about Elliot ~~ her strong thinking (and willingness / eagerness to read and think outside the "usual boxes"), her deep faith and faithfulness, her equally deep commitment to trust and obey God. And I was so sad that her theology brought her so much internal struggle, such a fear for so long of "missing God's narrow will" and possible consequences, the belief that God made others sick or harmed them to "teach HER a lesson" ~~ these are familiar teachings I've heard all through my churched life, but I do not believe they represent God well, at all, and I am sorrowful that she carried their weight for so much of her life. And ~~ as I am not a complementarian, and still struggle not to default to those attitudes I learned from Elliot and others ~~ I was most saddened at how her belief that wives should dissolve themselves; that wives SHOULD make ALL the sacrifices, and should completely and implicitly obey their husbands without even making a "godly request" to be heard, brought her so much sorrow and suffering. And I know young women who read Elliot's books on dating, marriage, family, and chose to pattern their lives on these books, trusting her certitude to bring them godliness and happiness as they walked this one true path to godly lives.

I am grateful to Austen for not writing a hagiography of Elliot, and also grateful for the respect and admiration for her that also flow through. I am grateful still for the exhortations to trust and obey God and to rest in his care ~~ and will always be grateful for her calm, no nonsense reminder that I am loved with an everlasting love.

[christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Elisabeth Elliot: A Life, Lucy S. R. Austen has crafted a meticulously researched literary biography of one of the most influential women in twentieth-century Christian history. In describing it as a literary biography, I meant two things: that it paid particular attention to the formation, values, and sustenance of Elisabeth Elliot the writer; and that the biography itself consisted of beautiful and polished literary prose, not unlike what readers might expect from Iain Murray or David McCullough. This style was a pleasure to read and also contributed to the nuanced, complex portrayal of a nuanced, complex woman. Austen’s love, compassion, and respect for her subject shone through, even as she did not gloss over inconsistencies, generational sins, and personal blindspots.


One of my favorite themes Austen brings out from Elisabeth’s life was her writerly bent, beginning in childhood and blossoming at Wheaton College. Long before she wrote professionally, for seemingly all of her life, in fact, Elisabeth metabolized life through words on paper. She poured out and tried to make sense of circumstances and feelings primarily before God and in her journals, far more than she seemed to have done with close family and friends. Even during her young adult years as a missionary in Ecuador, another missionary told his wife “‘how he was impressed that Betty’s gifts tended more toward intellectual pursuits than to personal ministry’ and that he was beginning to pray for a ‘writing ministry’ for Betty” (203). As Providence would have it, that missionary’s death with Elisabeth’s husband Jim, when both men were relative newlyweds, became the catalyst for Elisabeth’s vocation to begin to shift toward writing and, secondarily, speaking at Christian events.

Austen described the genesis of many of Elisabeth’s books, including two I have known of and not yet read and several unknown to me until now. She let Elisabeth tell, in excerpts from letters and books, her own philosophy of biography and her values as a writer. Elisabeth longed deeply to see truly and convey to the reader what she saw. Throughout her life, she pursued a determined quest for truth and commitment to live accordingly, even if that meant contradicting one’s prior experience, writing, or teaching. Like most writers, Elliot fought recurrent battles with imposter syndrome, wondering what audacity gave her the idea that she had anything to say worth reading and whether she would ever find the right words to reach her readers.

In one of my favorite passages, Austen wrote:

Her talks were drawn from the things she had been wrestling with in her own thinking. At the [Wheaton College annual writers’] conference she spoke on “Writing as Personal Discovery,” arguing that we can only write with integrity about what we have learned through experience. The writer’s task is to faithfully portray the things she has seen. This requires a posture of uncertainty and active searching in order to be able to see. It requires openness to change—it will mean that “we don’t think the same way that we thought last year”—and to messiness. The psalmist, she pointed out, says in Psalm 37 not to fret, and then writes other psalms that are “just one long fret.” And it requires a commitment to excellence in the craft of writing: good writing can be trusted “to give form to…truth,” but “bad writing is a lie.”

In contrast to this vision, Elliot said, much of what is called Christian writing begins from the assumption that the writer’s job is to expound the right doctrine, win adherents to the cause, create certainty, prevent change, preserve tidiness. The result, she suggested, is not art but propaganda: “It is the search for truth which gives rise to creativity.” “I believe one of the reasons for the lack of really true Christian art is first of all that we start with the answers. We begin with the cheerful assurance that we know the truth and so the search that is the basis of art is thwarted” (392-393).

To my mind, Austen honored Elisabeth’s aesthetic and biographical values faithfully in this fine volume.

Also through Elliot’s own words, I saw her lifelong struggle with the introversion that made her the observant, thoughtful writer she was but was often not socially acceptable (or even considered sinful) in the evangelical milieu in which Elliot worked. Austen made note of this struggle with gentle compassion and more understanding of various temperaments than perhaps Elliot had. Austen’s own reserved, introspective style suits her subject in this regard.

Along similar lines, Austen chronicled what Elisabeth was reading (as mentioned in journals and letters) at frequent intervals throughout her life. These lists demonstrated shifts and expansions in thinking over the decades and what ideas informed Elliot’s writings. A reader could build a lifetime reading list from the books mentioned in this biography and likely not be able to finish. The breadth of authors and content surprised me, despite my long familiarity with Elisabeth’s work.

This book held other surprises too. I had not realized how greatly her paradigms shifted on matters such as dating and courtship or liturgical worship. The progressive views on certain areas of morality and ethics she articulated in correspondence also raised my eyebrows and seemed likely to delight some readers and dismay others. Her deep and abiding friendship with her younger brother Tom was a bright and happy surprise. On a lighter note, her frequent and emphatic use of italics and underlining in her private correspondence and notes just tickled my funny bone. I could clearly hear her voice in my ear as I read those passages.

The most striking and meaningful insight I received was the depth, diversity, and duration of Elisabeth’s suffering. In no way was her sorrow concentrated in her bereavements of her first two husbands. In fact, it seemed to me that the only periods of her adult life in which happiness prevailed were her marriage to Jim and perhaps her early years back in the United States, when she lived in New Hampshire with her daughter Valerie and another former missionary, her friend Van (Eleanor Vandevort). Many times Elisabeth’s trials brought tears to my eyes. It saddened me that she endured so much for so long.

One of those difficult sections to read described Elisabeth’s growing awareness of what would be diagnosed as Alzheimer’s dementia, an illness I have witnessed in more than one close relative. Elisabeth Elliot had a dazzling intellect, a vibrant love of reading and learning, a sharp wit, and a practically unmatched gift for articulate, thoughtful Christian writing. Many of the lifestyle habits contemporary medicine has advised for Alzheimer’s prevention were consistently part of Elisabeth’s disciplined life. For her to lose the life of the mind must have been like dying while she yet lived. This was heartbreaking to read but only increased my respect and empathy for her.

And yet—the deepest waters and hottest fires she passed through enabled her to speak on and into suffering with authority and compassion. I believed Elisabeth when she addressed the topic of affliction because I knew she spoke from experience. When I have needed help in my own trials and heartbreak, I have wanted someone like Elisabeth (or Joni Tada, Amy Carmichael, Vaneetha Risner…), who endured hard things with grace; airbrushed, glossy celebrity Christianity has offered no cool water to soothe those in the furnace of affliction. Thanks be to God for those who have persevered.

Elliot clearly experienced doubts and changes of convictions over the years, but she never abandoned faith in God and in the Bible. Many earthly things were shaken, but the foundation of her life was the everlasting love of God upon her and the everlasting arms of God beneath her; therefore, her foundation held firm.

This biography provided a long, thoughtful read that amply repaid the investment of time and attention. It was not a book for those who have placed Elisabeth Elliot on an idealized pedestal and committed to keeping her there. The real woman, with all her complexities and contradictions, was much more interesting than the ideal, and seeing her humanity and need to grow and change through this book pointed me back to the Savior she loved and served. Her legacy has always been about His faithfulness, not her own.

The only thing I wished to add to Austen’s biography was an audiobook version. Not everyone could read a book of this length; I thought especially of those suffering profoundly, such as those living with chronic illness and disability that might make reading difficult but Elisabeth’s testimony needful. Perhaps one will come about if reader demand makes it feasible for Crossway to undertake?

Eight years ago, Elisabeth Elliot Leitch Gren took her place in the cloud of those witnesses whose races were finished, and finished in faith. Along with them, her life testified that Jesus was (and is) better than anyone or anything else; that Jesus was (and is) worthy of our full and glad surrender; and that persevering faith was (and is) possible for those who fix their eyes on Him and on the invisible, eternal truth of Scripture.

[Angela Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting. A valuable reading choice for anyone interested in missions and/or the history of evangelical teachings on gender roles.

I have a deep admiration for Elliot’s commitment to follow Christ no matter the cost. I attended Wheaton College inspired largely by the Elliots’ powerful witness. Later, I spent nearly a year as a cross-cultural worker with a literacy organization. At the end of my commitment, I returned to the states a bit disillusioned by the industrial mission complex and hostility between different missionary factions. This biography captures the complexity of cross cultural work in a way that resonated deeply with me. I appreciated learning how Elliot’s thinking about missions deepened over time. I felt like her questions and struggles made space for many of the questions that I have asked myself as I’ve reflected on my experience.

While her perspective broadened in many ways as she aged, her teachings on gender roles became more rigid and less nuanced. In one letter she writes this, “Woman was made for man. Yes, she is supposed to 'make all the sacrifices.’” If you know me (Angela), you know I’m very familiar with Piper’s exhortations that a woman should be sure to provide directions in a submissive manner if a man who is lost asks her for help in locating the freeway 🙄. Elisabeth takes this teaching to an even more extreme level in the 90s, telling women “it was inappropriate to give directions to a man who was driving, even if the woman was the only person in the car who knew how to get where they were going.” Her teachings late in life seem so dissonant with her earlier work. From my perspective, these teachings around “biblical womanhood” resulted in a lot of harm. However, I have more compassion on her personal position after learning about the cognitive dissonance she must have experienced during her third marriage to a high-control man.

In summation: this biography wrestles honestly with the complexities of Elisabeth’s life. It honors her journey and her sincere pursuit of Christ without sugar coating her inconsistencies and blind-spots.

[Michelle Ule · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this biography back to back with Ellen Vaughn's "Being Elisabeth Elliot," as well as following conversations on X-Twitter about the books' revelations.

Austen's book, a biography of Elliot's entire life, had more ground to cover but did an admirable job if you knew nothing about Elliot's story.

She provided a different lens to consider aspects of "the story," and I appreciated her careful study.

It made me wonder what I, personally, was looking for in reading these books (and the other books written before about Elliot).

Perhaps women my age are seeking a reflective understanding of OUR lives through reading about one of our "icons" of Christian womanhood.

I found the sections reflecting Elliot's changes in worldview, or at least how to understand the Church in my time, of great interest. The pressures on this woman, struggling to come to terms with what she believed about her life and mission work, was fascinating.

As the biographer of a female missionary who bucked a lot of gender issues while leading an international organization for more than 20 years, Elliot's thoughts and wrestling with Christendom gave me pause.

We'll have to sit in a corner of heaven together someday, and hash it all out.

[Whitney Dziurawiec · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was nothing short of incredible. I feel like I could write a long essay on this book 😂 Engaging writing, delicate and respectful handling of the intimate (and sometimes scandalous) details of Elliot's life, and unflinching yet charitable critique of all of Elliot's inconsistencies. What a beautifully realistic portrait of a life. I admit I teared up when she died.

To quote Elliot, "Whatever our views, they are probably too narrow . . . but the wonderful thing is God is willing to start there."

If you would have told me a year ago that I would not only READ an EE biography but also give it 5 stars I would have immediately scrambled to change the trajectory of my life to avoid such a fate. Well done, Ms. Austen.