Ellen Vaughn on Being Elisabeth Elliot

According to ElisabethElliot.org, Elisabeth Elliott, who passed away in 2015 at 88 years old, “was a missionary and a critically acclaimed author and speaker. For over half a century, her life of obedience, timeless teachings, and best-selling books have influenced both believers and seekers of the Christian faith. … The resounding theme of Elliot’s life was the boundless love of Jesus, and her greatest commission was to tell others of His saving grace. This costly call led her into the Amazonian jungle of Ecuador where her husband, Jim Elliot, was one of five missionaries speared to death in 1956 while attempting to make contact with members of the Auca/Waodani tribe. Elisabeth, along with her young daughter Valerie, would later return to Auca territory to live among and minister to the people who killed her husband.”

In 2020, Ellen Vaughn wrote the first part of an authorized biography about Becoming Elisabeth Elliot, covering her life through her time spent in the Ecuadorian jungles. Vaughn’s second part of the biography, published in 2023, covers the period of Elliott’s life after returning to the U.S.

Vaughn is a New York Times best-selling author and speaker who has written or co-written 24 books. She is the former vice president of executive communications at Prison Fellowship where she collaborated with the late Chuck Colson on a number of his seminal works. She speaks at conferences, often travels to interview Christ-followers in hostile parts of the world, and serves on the board of directors for ICM, the global church developer. Vaughn lives in northern Virginia and enjoys reading, hiking, drinking coffee with friends, and staring pensively at the ocean.

Vaughn joins Inspiration Ministries’ John Farrell to discuss her latest book, Being Elisabeth Elliot, and what Elliot’s life was like in America after returning from living with the Waodoni tribe in Ecuador. Watch the interview below and order your copy of Being Elisabeth Elliot: The Authorized Biography: Elisabeth’s Later Years.

Learn more about Ellen Vaughn at ellenvaughn.com