New World Library cofounder and author Shakti Gawain, née Carol Louise Gawain, died on November 11. She was 70.
Gawain began her career in publishing in 1977, when she and fellow NWL cofounder Marc Allen began writing and producing educational booklets out of the kitchen of their small apartment in Oakland, Calif., under the name Whatever Publishing. Gawain's first book, Creative Visualization, put the publisher on the map with the help of Oprah Winfrey, who invited Gawain to discuss the book before The Oprah Winfrey Show was even syndicated and ran the interview on national television once it was. To date, the book has sold more than seven million copies sold worldwide.
Gawain went on to write several other books in the mind/body/spirit space, including Living in the Light, Return to the Garden, The Path of Transformation, The Four Levels of Healing, Creating True Prosperity, and Developing Intuition. Her books have sold more than ten million copies, according to New World Library, and have been translated into 38 languages.
Gawain left New World Library in 1992 to start a publishing company with her husband, Jim Burns, called Nataraj Publishing, and to open a healing center in Mill Valley, Calif. She spent the remainder of her career mentoring individuals, publishing books, and running workshops.
Gawain was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the late 1990s, and later with Lewy body disease. Services will be planned at a later date. Memorial contributions can be made in Shakti’s name to the Lewy Body Dementia Association.
