Biography[edit]

Gestefeld was born in Augusta, Maine.^[1] She had four children with her husband, journalist Theodore Gestefeld, and in the 1870s their family moved to Chicago.^[2]


In the 1890s Gestefeld developed her philosophy which she called the "Science of Being" and published numerous works on the topic.^[1][2] In 1897, she founded the Exodus Club, with its corresponding magazine The Exodus, which later became the Church of New Thought and College of the Science of Being in 1904.^[1][2] She became a prominent voice in the New Thought movement, publishing both fiction and non-fiction.^[2]


In addition to her other writings, Gestefeld was involved with the creation of Elizabeth Cady Stanton's The Woman's Bible.^[3][4]


Although Gestefeld had a large following of students,^[1] her church did not last after Gestefeld's death, and many of its members were absorbed into the wider New Thought movement.^[2]