Philip Yancey - Biography

Biography

Yancey was born in Atlanta and grew up in nearby suburbs. When Yancey was one year old, his 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 church contributed to Yancey's loss his faith at one point of time. After high school he attended a Bible College, where he met his wife, Janet. His two graduate degrees in Communications and English were earned from Wheaton College Graduate School and the University of Chicago.

Yancey moved to Chicago, Illinois, and in 1971 joined the staff of Campus Life magazine—a sister publication of Christianity Today directed towards high school and college students—where he served as editor for eight years. Yancey was for many years an editor for Christianity Today and wrote articles for Reader's Digest, The Saturday Evening Post, Publishers Weekly, Chicago Tribune Magazine, Eternity, Moody Monthly, and National Wildlife, among others. He now lives in Colorado, working as an editor-at-large for Christianity Today. He is a member of the editorial board of Books & Culture, another magazine affiliated with Christianity Today, and travels around the world for speaking engagements.

Yancey was critically injured in a motor vehicle accident in February 2007 but recovered well. By August 2007, he had completed his goal of climbing all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot (4,300 m)-plus peaks, the final three after his accident.