In Conversation with Lucy S.R. Austen

Login details for tomorrow's 12pm EST Zoom event with Elisabeth Elliot's biographer

When Elisabeth Elliot published a biography of R. Kenneth Strachan, a 20^th-century missionary to Costa Rica, she admitted that every life story is full of “ironies, contradictions, inconsistencies, imponderables.”

Lucy S.R. Austen, Elliot’s biographer, admits this is the human condition. Tomorrow, I’ll talk to Lucy about some of Elliot’s own ironies, contradictions, inconsistencies, and imponderables. I’ll also speak to her about the process of writing this book, which consumed eleven years! As a peek at our conversation, I’ll be asking questions like:

1. What historical context felt important for narrating Elisabeth Elliot’s life? What sources were important for you to learn about this historical context?

2. Of all the source material you could have made use of—between the interviews you conducted, Elliot’s own published writings, her journals, Jim’s journals, family letters, and more—what guiding framework did you use for selecting the material that was eventually included? And for the practical nuts and bolts of the research, how did you keep track of it all?

3. Can you talk about the difference between an authorized biography, such as Ellen Vaughan’s two-volume biography on Elliot, and an “unauthorized” one like yours?

4. What do you expect readers who are already familiar with EE, before reading the book, will be surprised to learn about this iconic figure?

5. Can you sketch for us two or three of the most significant crossroads for Elliot in terms of her own formulations of Christian faith?

6. You made the decision to include material that might not seem all that favorable to Elliot. What were your own guiding principles for narrating the more complicated aspects of her life?

   1. I’m thinking of the nature of her physical relationship with Jim Elliot, before their marriage. 

   2. I’m thinking of the loss of theological absolutes she faced, returning from Ecuador after Jim’s death and her irreconcilable conflict with Rachel Saint.

   3. I’m thinking of her second marriage—and its somewhat scandalous timing.

   4. I’m thinking of her third marriage to Lars Gren, which seems to have bordered on abusive.

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