Louise Hay

**Louise Lynn Hay** (October 8, 1926 – August 30, 2017) was an American motivational author and the founder of Hay House. She authored several New Thought self-help books, including the 1984 book, _You Can Heal Your Life_. She was born in Los Angeles, California.

Hay died in Los Angeles of natural causes on August 30, 2017 at the age of 90.

## Early life

Hay was born Helen Vera Lunney in Los Angeles to Henry John Lunney (1901–1998) and Veronica Chwala (1894–1985). In a May 2008 interview with Mark Oppenheimer of _The New York Times,_ Hay described her life.

According to Hay, she was born in Los Angeles to an impoverished mother who remarried Ernest Carl Wanzenreid (1903–1992), Louise's abusive stepfather, who mistreated her and her mother. A neighbour sexually assaulted her when she was around five years old. She became pregnant at the age of 15, left University High School in Los Angeles without a diploma, and gave up her newborn daughter for adoption on her sixteenth birthday.

After that, she relocated to Chicago and took low-paying jobs there. She relocated to New York in 1950. At this point, she started a career as a fashion model and changed her first name. Working with Bill Blass, Oleg Cassini, and Pauline Trigère, she was successful. She wed English businessman Andrew Hay (1928–2001) in 1954. After 14 years of marriage, she was distraught when he left her for Sharman Douglas (1928–1996).

## Career

At this time, according to Hay, she discovered the First Church of Religious Science on 48th Street, where she learnt about the transformational power of thinking.  Hay read "positive thinking" writers' New Thought writings.  Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science, taught that positive thinking could heal the body, while Florence Scovel Shinn believed that positive thinking could alter people's material circumstances.

Hay started practicing Religious Science in the early 1970s. She became well-known as a workshop leader while leading people in spoken affirmations that she thought would heal their ailments.  At Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa, she also learnt Transcendental Meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Hay described how she was diagnosed with "incurable" cervical cancer in 1977 or 1978 and how she concluded that she had contributed to the disease's onset by harbouring bitterness over the torture and rape she had experienced as a child.  She described how she started a forgiveness routine in addition to therapy, nutrition, reflexology, and sporadic colonic enemas after refusing traditional medical care.  She claimed in the interview that she used this technique to get rid of the cancer, but she acknowledged that she had outlived every physician who might corroborate her claim.

Hay wrote and self-published her first book, _Heal Your Body_, in 1976. It started out as a little pamphlet with a list of various medical illnesses and their "probable" metaphysical roots. Later, she expanded and expanded this pamphlet into her 1984 book _You Can Heal Your Life_. It ranked fourth on _The New York Times_ paperback advice bestsellers list in February 2008.

She started "Hay Rides" at about the same time, organising support groups for those with HIV/AIDS. These expanded from a small gathering in her living room to hundreds of men in a sizable hall in West Hollywood, California. She became well-known for her work with AIDS patients and received invitations to appear on _The Oprah Winfrey Show_ and _The Phil Donahue Show_ within the same week in March 1988. After that, _You Can Heal Your Life_ shot to the top of _The New York Times_ bestseller list. Over 50 million copies in more than 30 languages have been sold worldwide and it has been turned into a film as well. _You Can Heal Your Life_ is also a part of the book _50 Self-Help Classics_ because it was significant in its field. It is frequently referred to as a component of the New Age movement.

According to Hay, it had "... sold more than thirty-five million copies". 2011 saw the announcement that _You Can Heal Your Life_ has sold 40 million copies. Refer to page 225 of her book (printed in December 2008).

## Publishing house

Hay founded the publishing company Hay House in 1984. Reid Tracy began working for the company in 1988 as an accountant before rising to the position of CEO. The company prospered and drew a variety of authors.  More than 130 writers, including Deepak Chopra and numerous works by Wayne Dyer, have their books and audiobooks published by Hay House. The teachings of "Abraham" as conveyed by Esther Hicks are also published by Hay House.

## Legacy

Hay managed her publishing business as well as the Hay Foundation, a nonprofit that she established in 1985. Its goal is to create futures and assist groups that improve the lives of people, animals, and the environment.

_You Can Heal Your Life,_ a film based on Louise Hay's life, was released in 2008.  On the official website of the movie, Hay states: "This movie is the story of my life, my teachings, and how I've applied the principles of my teachings to my own life." The film was directed by Emmy Award-winning director Michael A. Goorjian; it also includes prominent speakers and writers in the field of personal development, such as Gregg Braden, Wayne Dyer, Gay Hendricks, Esther and Jerry Hicks, and Doreen Virtue.

Louise Hay received a Minerva Award at The Women's Conference that same year.

Hay and Cheryl Richardson's book _You Can Create An Exceptional Life_ was published in September 2011.

Built completely from archival footage, the 2021 documentary film _Another Hayride_ is narrated by writer/minister David Ault and examines how, in the 1980s Los Angeles, Louise taught hundreds of gay men with AIDS how to love themselves.