SANTA PAULA : Bahai Speaker Shares Her Life With Readers

At the age of 81, Florence Mayberry decided that she had a story to tell.

So the former Santa Paula resident spent the next half-decade putting together the story of her life, from her birth in Missouri to her worldwide career as a Bahai speaker.

Along the way, she lived in Mexico and Israel, published 40 mystery stories and worked for a time as a reporter on the Santa Paula Chronicle.

On Friday, Mayberry, 88, autographed copies of her recently published autobiography, “The Great Adventure,” in a Santa Paula bookstore.

“I was impelled to write the story of my life, and I want to share it with the rest of the world,” Mayberry said.

“My life has been just one great fortune.”

As a young woman, she wandered in and out of libraries reading books on religion, philosophy and cults, and raced from Protestant churches to Buddhist temples seeking something that would give her hope.

She even considered becoming a nun, although she wasn’t Catholic.

In 1941, though, Mayberry’s search ended when she became a Bahai believer.

Bahais, who worship in homes, believe that any religion can reveal God’s will for humanity, Mayberry said.

“The wonderful thing about Florence is that she is a compelling storyteller and a very dramatic person,” said Margaret Gallagher, a friend of 40 years. “She lives what she preaches.”

Mayberry lived in Santa Paula at three different times. As a child, she spent a few years with relatives who had a ranch there. As a teen-ager, she returned to be a reporter for the Santa Paula Chronicle. And in 1946, she came back to manage the local Chamber of Commerce.

Mayberry, a widow, now lives in Conway, Mo., where she continues to write on her old-fashioned typewriter.

From 1973 to 1983, Mayberry lived in Haifa, Israel, serving as a teacher on the staff of the Bahai World Center.

As a Bahai consultant, she has traveled around the world, speaking about her faith.

“I don’t want to stop,” Mayberry said. “I will continue speaking until I’m no longer able to do so.”