This biography of Betty Elliot--wife of Jim Elliot, who died at the end of a spear in Ecuador--is based on the diaries she kept throughout her life. I love the way these two immortalized people are portrayed in all their humanity, doubt and failure. They were not perfect or unusually gifted; they were just unusually committed to the gospel. Betty is widely admired, but in reality, her life was far from glamorous. She dealt with a lot of heartache and frustration. Even the two years she spent living with the tribe who killed her husband were shadowed by interpersonal struggles with her co-missionary.
The beginning of the book describes Betty as a somewhat shallow, idealistic teenage Christian. I enjoyed 'watching' her faith develop and deepen through difficulties and hardships. I found myself surprisingly annoyed with Jim and his indecision, not what I was expecting in regard to this martyr of faith! The book ends without covering Betty's later years, which I wished it would do. In all, I found the book to be meticulously researched, well-written and inspirational.