Ella Young Remembered

Ella Young immigrated to the United States in 1925 at the age of 58, disillusioned by Ireland’s civil war. In America she found a revitalizing natural beauty and a wide circle of friends among the artists and bohemians of the mid-century.

Through her stories, beliefs, and poetry, she restored people’s connection with the sacred in nature. She taught that the land holds spirits, that you can talk to a mountain, and that humans are part of the planet, not here to dominate it. This connection of ecological consciousness to daily life was Ella’s wisdom for her time and ours.

Despite her influence and timely message, very little documentary evidence of Young’s life exists. Ten years after her death in 1956, historian James Cain interviewed six of Young’s friends, recording first-hand memories. Ella Young Remembered makes the transcripts of these interviews available for the first time.

Photographer Ansel Adams recounts her spiritual mentorship. Sexologist Gavin Arthur reveals her early contributions to secret neo-pagan traditions. Her neighbors John and Gudrun Grell remember philosophical conversations and UFO sightings. Educator W. W. Lyman recounts her friendships with literary and bohemian celebrities. Her friend Jane Thompson paints a picture of her “strange feyness,” and her final hours.