In memory of Louise Lynn Hay, October 8, 1926 – August 30, 2017

We are so saddened by the loss of Louise Hay. She was a great inspiration to all of us at Beyond Words. Louise made the world a much better place with her compassion and visionary work. Her legacy will live on and continue to touch lives in a positive way for generations to come.

With gratitude and respect,
Richard and Michele Cohn

A seminal founder of the modern self-help movement, Louise Hay passed away yesterday at 90. A visionary and tireless advocate for the importance of intuitive and positive thinking, she was dubbed “the closest thing to a living saint.”

She began her career doing ministerial work in New York City in 1970, which quickly led to counseling work. She set the stage for her later career as a publisher with the authoring of a reference guide that detailed the mental causes of physical illnesses and then developed positive affirmations for reversing them. This guide became the foundation on which one of her best known works, Heal Your Body, was built. Louise had cause to put her theories to the test when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, which she treated with an intensive program of affirmations, visualization, nutritional cleansing, and psychotherapy. Within 6 months, the cancer was gone.

Her groundbreaking work You Can Heal Your Life explains how our beliefs about ourselves are often the source of our emotional and physical problems and how we can change our thought patterns to better our lives. Published in 1984, the book has gone on to sell more than 50 million copies worldwide.

Hay House has grown from modest beginnings—its first office was Louise’s living room—into a highly respected publishing company that has sold millions of books and products worldwide and has offices around the globe.

During a time when we are more divided than ever, it’s important to remember that there are people like Louise, people who continually choose hope and love over cynicism, over hate. Though there will never be another like her, the world is an immeasurably better place for her having been in it, and we are all blessed to benefit from her life’s work.