Gratitude: A Way of Life

Louise L. Hay was born in Los Angeles, California on October 8, 1926. She was abused by her stepfather and raped by a neighbor. As a teenager, she dropped out of school and gave birth to a girl, her only child, whom she gave up for adoption. After living in Chicago for a time, she moved to New York, where she worked as a fashion model. In the mid-1950s, married English businessman Andrew Hay. When her marriage ended 14 years later, she started attending the First Church of Religious Science in Manhattan and began training in the ministerial program. Through her work as a Science of Mind minister, she compiled a reference guide detailing the mental causes of physical ailments and positive thought-provoking ways to cure them. The compilation, entitled Heal Your Body, is also known as The Little Blue Book. After moving back to her native Southern California in 1980, she wrote and published the book You Can Heal Your Life in 1984. Her other books included The Power Is Within You, Meditations to Heal Your Life, Empowering Women, and Life! Reflections on Your Journey. She also co-wrote You Can Heal Your Heart: Finding Peace After a Breakup, Divorce or Death with David Kessler. She founded Hay House, Inc., in 1984. Beginning as a small venture in the living room of her home, it became a multimillion-dollar company with an extensive line of products including books, CDs and online courses. She died on August 30, 2017 at the age of 90.