Philip Yancey

Last updated
Philip Yancey
Philip Yancey speaking.jpg
Yancey speaking at the 2008 Greenbelt Festival in England
Born (1949-11-04) November 4, 1949 (age 76)
OccupationAuthor
Years active1971–2026
Spouse
Janet Norwood
​
(m. 1970)​

Philip Yancey (born November 4, 1949 [1] ) is an American retired author who wrote primarily about spiritual issues. His books have sold more than 15 million copies in English and have been translated into 40 languages, making him one of the best-selling contemporary Christian authors. Two of his books have won the ECPA's Christian Book of the Year Award: The Jesus I Never Knew in 1996, and What's So Amazing About Grace? in 1998. [2] He is published by Hachette, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, InterVarsity Press, Rabbit Room Press, and Penguin Random House.

Contents

Life and career

Yancey was born in Atlanta [3] to Marshall Watts (1927-1950) and Mildred Sylvania ( née  Diem) Yancey (1924-2023) [4] and grew up in nearby suburbs. [5] He has an older brother, also named Marshall. [6] When he was one year old, his preacher father, stricken with polio, died after church members suggested he go off life support in faith that God would heal him. This and other negative experiences with a rigid, conservative, fundamentalist church background contributed to Yancey's losing his faith at one point and deeply questioning the established church at other times. [7] [8] After high school he attended Columbia Bible College in South Carolina, where he met his wife, Janet. [9] [10] He went on to earn graduate degrees in communications and English from Wheaton College Graduate School and the University of Chicago.

While living in the Chicago, Illinois suburbs, in 1971 Yancey joined the staff of Campus Life magazine—a publication directed towards high school and college students—where he served as editor for eight years. [11] For three decades Yancey contributed as an editor-at-large, for Christianity Today , and also wrote articles for publications including Reader's Digest , The Saturday Evening Post , Publishers Weekly , The Atlantic , Chicago Magazine , Christian Century , and National Wildlife .

As a journalist, he has interviewed two U.S. presidents and other notable people such as Bono, Billy Graham, and the authors Annie Dillard, John Updike, and Henri Nouwen. Former president Jimmy Carter called Yancey "my favorite modern author". [12]

Personal life

Yancey lives in Colorado with his wife Janet, who he married in 1970. Over the course of his writing and speaking career, he visited over 85 countries.

Yancey suffered a broken neck in a motor vehicle accident in February 2007 but recovered. In August that year he completed his goal of climbing all 53 of Colorado's 14,000-foot (4,300 m)-plus peaks, the final three after his accident. [13] In the fall of 2022, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. [14] He later described Parkinson’s as "the gift I didn’t want." [15]

In a statement emailed to Christianity Today on January 6, 2026, Yancey confessed "that he had engaged in an affair with a married woman for eight years and would retire from writing and speaking." [16]

Bibliography

Yancey (left) has written many books, including Vanishing Grace Philip Yancey book signing.jpg
Yancey (left) has written many books, including Vanishing Grace

References

  1. ↑ "Library of Congress Authority Record: Yancey, Philip". 2012-10-02.
  2. ↑ "ECPA". Archived from the original on 2007-04-03. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
  3. ↑ Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church by Yancey, Hodder & Stoughton, 2001, p. 12.
  4. ↑ "Mildred Yancey". Barrett Funeral Home. 2023-05-13. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  5. ↑ Finding God in Unexpected Places by Philip Yancey, 1995, Zondervan, p. 60.
  6. ↑ Johnsson, William G. (2022-03-18). "The Brothers Yancey and the Curse". Spectrum Magazine. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  7. ↑ "Philip Yancey's Life". Archived from the original on 2006-02-02. Retrieved 2006-03-06.
  8. ↑ Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church by Yancey, Hodder & Stoughton, 2001, pp 21–22.
  9. ↑ Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church by Yancey, Hodder & Stoughton, 2001, pp. 2, 45.
  10. ↑ "Yancey, Philip D. 1949- (Philip David Yancey) Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  11. ↑ "Soul Survivor – Philip Yancey – "About the Author"". Random House. Retrieved 2006-03-06.
  12. ↑ "In My Library: Jimmy Carter". 2011-12-25. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  13. ↑ ChristianityTodayLibrary.com newsletter January 21, 2008 reproduced in Random Musings from a Doctor's Chair (retrieved January 27, 2008).
  14. ↑ "Dislabeled". Philip Yancey. 2023-02-20. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  15. ↑ University, Harvard (February 20, 2023). "Parkinson's—The Gift I Didn't Want". Christianity Today.
  16. ↑ Belz, Emily (2026-01-06). "Author Philip Yancey Confesses Affair, Withdraws from Ministry". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
  17. ↑ ISBN   978-0-8355-1309-8
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