Among the many books I read in 2021, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn was one of my favorites. I deeply admire Elisabeth Elliot and was thrilled to learn more about her early life up to her time in Ecuador. I have been anxiously waiting for the sequel, Being Elisabeth Elliot, and I could not hold my excitement when I finally got a copy!
In Being Elisabeth Elliot, Vaughn guides us through Elliot’s life after she left Ecuador and highlights pivotal moments such as her first novel and its controversy, her marriage to Addison Leitch, her second widowhood, her flourishing writing and speaking career, and her third marriage to Lars Gren. Like in the first volume, Vaughn leans heavily on Elliot’s journal entries and letters for source material.
Once again, Vaughn did an excellent job writing Elliot’s story and providing a glimpse into this remarkable and intricate woman’s life. I appreciate Vaughn for not shying away from revealing the less admirable details of Elliot’s life, such as her behavior with Leitch while he was still married and her character flaws.
But overall, Being Elisabeth Elliot did not meet my expectations and was not as enjoyable as its prequel. Allow me to share a few reasons for my disappointment.
First, Vaughn inserts herself into the book a lot. She even writes about a tragic event that happened to her while she was working on this book. I found having that much of the author’s presence in a biography weird and jarring.
Second, the book has a lot of irrelevant content. For example, some chapters discuss Elliot’s shopping in New York and outings, Walt’s backstory, and Walt and Valerie’s relationship. It seems like Vaughn didn’t have a lot of content for the book and added these sections as fillers.
Third, the book ended abruptly. Being Elisabeth Elliot ends with Elliot’s marriage to her third husband in 1977. Since Elliot died in 2015, Vaughn did not include the last 38 years of her life! There is not even a record of her last moments or the exact date she died. Unless there is a third volume in the world—which I highly doubt—this book has a very unsatisfying ending.
Despite these issues I have with this book, I am still glad I read it and recommend it. Vaughn had exclusive access to all of Elliot’s journals, and this book provides a unique window into Elliot’s inner thoughts. (Though I didn’t need to know some details about Elliot’s sex life).
I highly recommend also reading Elisabeth Elliot: A Life by Lucy Austen, as it provides a more thorough account of Elisabeth Elliot’s life.
*B&H Publishing graciously gave me a copy for an honest review*
