AustLit

Carla Van Raay emigrated to Australia with her family, settling in Melbourne where her father found work as a gardener for a Roman Catholic convent. At the age of 18 she became a postulant with the Faithful Companions of Jesus and remained with the Order for over 12 years. She later married and moved to Western Australia. After a phase of sexual promiscuity, Van Raay worked sporadically as a prostitute for nearly 20 years. She then pursued a range of healing therapies and New Age ideologies in Australia and California.