D. Gary Young The Lavender Connection As Told By Jean-Noel Landel

D. GARY YOUNG
The Lavender Connection
As told by
Jean-Noël Landel

D. GARY YOUNG
The Lavender Connection
As told by Jean-Noël Landel

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Cover: A historical moment announcing
the Young Living farm in France.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication .......................................................i
Acknowledgement ................................................ ii
Foreword ........................................................v
Introduction ....................................................vii
1. Crossing Paths ................................................. 1
2. My Grandmother’s Lavender ..................................... 19
3. Comparing Our Trials of Life .................................... 25
4. Our Common Vision .......................................... 41
5. Gary’s Passion for Distillation .................................... 65
6. Obsessed with Quality .......................................... 65
7. Encounters of Destiny .......................................... 77
8. Gary’s French Family ........................................... 83
9. A Complementary Match ....................................... 89
10. The Lavender Heart of Provence ................................ 103
11. Savoillan’s Farm, Where It All Started ............................ 111
12. The Simiane-la-Rotonde Farm and Distillery ...................... 117
13. The Seed to Seal Trademark of Quality ........................... 125
14. Understanding Lavender: Population, Clonal, and Lavandin .......... 127
15. The Threat to Lavender ....................................... 133
16. Einkorn—Ancient Grain, The Staff of Life ........................ 137
17. Hemp, a Failed Experiment; Death by Drought .................... 145
18. Farewell, My Friend .......................................... 147
19. Our Wives, Our Bedrock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
20. Nicolas Carries Our Heritage .................................. 161
21. Einkorn Recipes ............................................. 169

DEDICATION
The world of essential oils has grown beyond
anything I could have imagined 30 years ago. As I
look back over this amazing journey, it is to those
who love our industry and have helped it grow and
become what it is that I dedicate this book.
I feel immense gratitude in my heart to all who
have walked this path with Gary and me as we
blazed trails into the unknown—a path that has
brought us to where we are today. May we all
continue to carry the knowing of the importance
of pure essential oils to the world and remember
the sacrifices of those who made it possible to
bring in a new era of health and well-being as we
continue on into an exciting future.
i

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My family has always been my joy and priority. I gave up my business in
France and went to the United States to follow Jane, who became my wife and
gave me two beautiful children. Jane has always supported me in my flamboyant
nature and was right there with me as my adventure unfolded with Gary Young
and Young Living.
Were it not for Jane’s encouragement and the friendship she also developed
with Gary, I would not have been able to accomplish all the things I have done
in my life. Her dedication to the success of everything we did together made it
all possible. As I put the memories on paper, it was amazing how they came back
to life, filling me with excitement and gratitude for the opportunities that have
been mine.
The love of my children and their support has been truly rewarding. Véréna’s
family is always a joy to be around, especially with two little “know-it-all”
rambunctious grandsons sharing many family activities together. I appreciate my
family and their patience as they motivated me with that little extra push to get
it done.
Nicolas has made me proud as he continues the journey Gary and I started:
to produce the highest quality essential oils Mother Nature can provide. I am
impressed with his leadership ability and admire him for making the dream of
the French farm come true. It’s especially wonderful for me in retirement; I can
help and join in the activities, but only when I want.
I have had the idea to write this book for a long time, but Mary Young helped
bring my thoughts to the surface and kept asking for my book. Nicolas has
been a huge help in many aspects, and I am grateful for his support in finishing
the manuscript, because I know Mary is anxious to share my story: the roots of
Young Living in France.
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iv

FOREWORD
As I came into Gary’s world, I started to hear about this Jean-Noël, Gary’s
partner in France. Gary always talked with so much enthusiasm about Jean-Noël
and the farm. I was very new to the world of essential oils and really didn’t know
very much about Young Living, but I was learning and it was all very intriguing
for me. Since I had spent several years in Europe—which included studying
opera in Vienna, Austria, at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, from
which I graduated—I was very connected to singers, opera houses, different
languages, and cultures of Europe, but not to lavender oil from Provence.
I had been to several large cities in France, but I really loved driving along the
winding roads through small towns exploring the hilly countryside and seeing
the beautiful lavender; but back then, it was just beautiful lavender. Now it took
on a totally different meaning, and I was really anxious to learn more.
Jean-Noël was a very important person in Gary’s life, and Gary always spoke
with excitement about the conversations and plans they had. In 1992, Gary
took the first group of Young Living members to France, which began a new
chapter in the history of Young Living’s French lavender connection.
My first experience with our French lavender connection began in 1994,
the day after Gary and I were married. In a way, it’s comical, because the
whole reason Gary and I decided to get married in just five weeks was because
he wanted me to go with him to Grasse, France, to attend an essential oil
conference and meet his French family: Jean-Noël, Jane, and their children.
It was a great reunion for Gary, and the first thing the Landels did was take us
to a fancy restaurant in a most beautiful castle to celebrate. We had a fun time,
and it was a wonderful beginning for me. Jean-Noël and Jane were so gracious
and kind and quickly accepted me into their world.
I went with Gary to the first farm he and Jean-Noël leased from the
government. Jean-Noël was very creative, and the two of them spent a lot of
time making plans for the future.
v

It was a big disappointment when the government decided to close the farm,
which seemed very unfair, but Jean-Noël did not want to do battle. So the next
plan was to find a farm that he and Gary could own. It seemed that in every
phone call there was some conversation about the farm—the farm that took
Jean-Noël eight years to find, the farm we have today.
Gary was truly at home in France, and he loved every minute he spent there.
He loved his French family very much, and they expressed their great love for
him by flying all the way from France to participate in Gary’s Celebration of
Life. Jean-Noël gave a very inspiring tribute to Gary, and we all cried as Benoît,
Jean-Marie, and Nicolas walked as pallbearers to the gravesite.
So much history comes from those beginning years in France that shaped the
course of Young Living, and Gary’s adventures with Jean-Noël are priceless. So
little is known about those early days that I asked Jean-Noël to put his memories
into a book to preserve them so that everyone can enjoy their adventures.
We are not only thrilled to have that history but to also be creating the future
with Jean-Noël’s son, Nicolas, who is now the manager of our Simiane-la-
Rotonde Lavender Farm and Distillery, located in Provence, about a two-hour
drive north of Marseille, France.
Gary had the vision for Young Living and invited Jean-Noël to become part of
that vision as his partner, helping to build the foundation through his amazing
connections in the “circle of lavender growers and distillers,” as well as managing and
caring for the farm, which is evident to all who visit the beautiful Simiane Valley.
Nicolas promotes that same vision and leads with love and kindness that
welcomes our members who come to visit and to be a part of what they call
their farm in the heartland of Provence, or as Gary would say, “The lavender
capital of the world in true partnership with Young Living.”
Young Living owes tremendous gratitude to the Landel family for their
dedication and commitment to the mission of Young Living and for their love
and friendship that continues on for our family and all of our members. Gary’s
legacy and the heritage of the French connection that Jean-Noël preserved lives
on in all of our hearts for a healthy, happy, and prosperous future.
Mary Young
Co-Founder and CEO of Young Living Essential Oils
vi

INTRODUCTION
At the age of 65, I felt the need to tell the tale of the extraordinary relationship
I had with Gary Young, the founder of Young Living Essential Oils. I was unsure
about writing this book, as I often think that to live a happy life, it is better to
be quiet and not create a lot of commotion about how you live.
But now that Gary is gone, I want to pay tribute to him to make sure that his
legacy, and mine, will live on as part of the history of lavender; the therapeutic
value of essential oils; and, of course, more importantly, the human and spiritual
legacy we shared.
Our adventures together, filled with determination and discovery, are a
challenge to put into words, because with Gary, life was full of the unexpected
with great passion and deep emotion. Gary was a man of God who believed in
the goodness of mankind.
Gary believed in me and trusted me beyond all expectations, and he knew that
I felt the same way about him, which was the foundation of our friendship that
enriched both of our lives immensely.
I believe that Gary and I were destined to work together, not only for how I
could help him but also for what he could teach me with his vast knowledge in
the usage of oils in therapeutic and emotional application. Since we were on the
same path of health and wellness, it only made sense for us to travel that path
together.
This is the most unusual story that united Gary and I for nearly 30 amazing
and exciting years.
Jean-Noël Landel
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viii

— I —
CROSSING PATHS
Our amazing adventure started in sunny Los Angeles in October 1990. I was
attending a trade show with the firm intention of promoting the essential oils
I had brought with me from France, which included my beloved lavender oil,
the “mother of all essential oils.” I had gone around to the hundred exhibitors
without any success. Practically no one had ever heard about essential oils on
this side of the Atlantic.
Gary’s booth at the Whole Life Expo when I first met him.
1

By lunchtime, discouraged with the little response after such a long journey, I
came to a small booth with a sign that said “Aromatherapy Essential Oils.” I was
told that the owner was lecturing, so I decided to wait for him to come back to
the booth. From a distance, I saw a genuine cowboy with his hat, jeans, leather
coat, and boots. He walked with an air of confidence and a sort of knowing-like
energy that was very compelling.
I was not surprised when this man walked up to me and introduced himself.
However, this was not the Gary Young who everyone knows today but a younger
Gary who was only starting to walk the path of essential oils. He was a much
taller and thinner man than I, with a sincere and compassionate expression and
a very engaging smile and affable personality.
Little did I know that this meeting would change our lives forever and lead to
a beautiful friendship and collaboration that would last nearly 30 years. After we
exchanged a few words, I showed him my lavender oil samples. We immediately
connected with a knowing that something new and exciting was beginning for us.
Gary had this amazing way of putting everybody at ease. When he opened a vial
of my lavender and smelled it, his face lit up with joy. With an expression like that,
I knew he was an expert. He asked me if the oil was distilled in France; but before
I was able to answer, he suggested he come visit me in France in the coming days.
“You are a gift from heaven,” he kept saying. “You are a gift from heaven.” For
months, Gary had wanted to travel to France to visit lavender producers, but the
language barrier and the lack of contacts with the producers had halted his plans
until now. For over an hour, we chatted in front of his booth like long-lost friends.
That day I left the trade show happy with that single contact, despite
being slightly dubious about the outcome. To my surprise, one evening a few
months later in February 1991 around 7 p.m., my phone rang. “Hello, do you
remember me? I am Gary Young. We met at the trade show in Los Angeles,
actually it was Pasadena. I’m here in France, and I’d like to come visit you. How
long does it take to drive to your place?”
Gary had just flown to Paris and was calling me from the airport to ask if we
could meet. Given the late hour and the long drive, I suggested we meet the next
day. About 20 hours later, by noon, he was on my doorstep. What a surprise to see
him so quickly. I lived in Vers-sur-Méouge, a small and very isolated village in the
mountains of Provence, and was surprised that he found us so quickly.
2

The Landel family (left to right): Jane, Nicolas, Véréna, and Jean Noël.
GPS devices did not exist yet, so I was curious. Gary later confessed that he
drove half the way that night, slept in the car he had rented, asked for directions
along the way, and finished the drive that morning. I had invited him to stay
in my home, so the two weeks he planned on staying gave us time to really get
acquainted. That was the beginning of our friendship, and the esteem we had
for each other began to grow. Gary was always enthusiastic during the many
evenings we spent chatting about essential oils. He was focused, inquisitive, and
like a sponge wanting to understand and learn everything.
At that time, I knew only about the physical benefits of essential oils, specifically
those of lavender, so my interest was in the traditional uses, knowing that lavender
has been used historically for various therapeutic purposes including topical
application for relief of minor burns, insect bites, and other minor skin irritations.
I loved the research and was always experimenting, looking for more discoveries.
My knowledge was based on so-called medical and scientific aromatherapy, the
only aspect of essential oils recognized in France at the time, along with the French
school of aromatherapy. The French pharmacists had a guide that listed all the
products they were supposed to have in stock, including lavender essential oil.
3

I did not know that Gary’s knowledge was far more extensive than mine.
Unlike me and all those who obtained and sold essential oils, Gary explored
the psychological, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the oils. His approach was
confusing and a bit rattling.
However, Gary had a kind of knowing that made his unconventional and
innovative approach compelling. He was not surprised or disturbed by my
reaction. He became more animated as he told me about the essential oil blends
he had formulated in his laboratory in the United States to help others and was
excited about the effectiveness he was seeing. It was a world of discovery that he
wanted to share with me.
At the time, my son, Nicolas, was six months old and had a hard time sleeping
and cried a lot. One evening, Gary held him on his lap and gently rubbed a few
drops of lavender on his little feet. Jane and I were astounded to see how our little
boy calmed down and fell asleep. I began to feel the same excitement that Gary
was feeling about his discoveries.
Gary enjoyed driving the narrow, winding roads of Provence, up and down
the hilly terrain, visiting endless fields of lavender and hundreds of distilleries.
He was excited to see the fields with rows and rows of lavender and distilleries in
operation and not just read about them in books.
During that time, I had just started a partnership with Marcel Espieu, a
well-known local distiller, who had been the president of the French Lavender
Association in Provence.
The winding roads of Provence.
4

I was in charge of the commercial side to develop new markets abroad, and
Marcel, like most producers, sold a large portion of his production of essential
oils—namely cypress, lavender, and clary sage—to perfumers in Grasse, a major
center for essential oils and the perfume industry in France.
I introduced Marcel to this enthusiastic cowboy from Idaho who had built
his own little distillation apparatus from sketches he found in a book combined
with his intuitive mechanical sense. Gary began experimenting and taught
himself how to distill mint, lemon balm (melissa), and lavender.
Marcel was cordial but hesitant about opening his operation to this foreigner
dressed like an American cowboy. But because Gary was with me, Marcel was a
bit more willing to talk and spend a little time trying to figure out why Gary was
even there.
Eventually, Marcel gave in to Gary’s persistent questions and invited him
to visit his distillery. He could tell that Gary was earnest in his desire to
understand, and that piqued Marcel’s curiosity. It was everything Gary had
dreamed of, and he spent every single day increasing his knowledge, visiting
producers, asking questions, and watching.
Cypress trees are often used as a wind barrier in southern France. The branches are trimmed during the winter
to keep them strong and healthy and are sometimes gathered and distilled for cypress essential oil.
5

Gary took pictures, made notes, and measured everything to such an extent
that Marcel and the other producers became concerned and started to worry.
They feared that this American cowboy was there to steal their secrets and knowhow
about French distillation techniques.
When they shared their concerns with me, I told Gary that they suspected
him of espionage, to which he quickly replied, “Jean-Noël, tell them they do not
have to worry about that. What they should worry about is how in a few years’
time, they can provide me with the very large quantities of quality essential
oils I will need.” Looking at Young Living’s current growth and the demand
for lavender oil, Gary’s prophetic words came to fruition, which was confirmed
several times throughout the following years.
As time went on, Gary spent more and more time in the distillery.
Surprisingly enough, Marcel invited Gary to his home for supper and to meet
his wife, Marthe. Gary did not speak French, and Marcel and Marthe did not
speak English; yet despite the language barrier, they connected on a different
level. They understood each other and built a close personal relationship that
brought confidence and trust as Gary moved into the inner circle of lavender
growers and distillers.
One winter season while Gary was visiting, I thought he would like a new
adventure in learning how we distill trees, cypress trees to be exact. Cypress
trees have been used for centuries to protect villagers and their crops against
the violent mistral winds that rage through Provence from the north during
the winter. These trees stand as powerful barriers with their tall, beautifully
manicured shape.
It was a yearly event to drive to the Rhône Valley to gather the cut cypress
branches that were discarded from the trimming. The straggly leftovers were
free, so we piled as much as we could into the truck and drove back to the
distillery that was about two hours away. This also benefitted the villagers
because were it not for us coming to clean up the mess and take it all away, they
would have to do the work.
The distillation was very important to Gary, so I took him with me on one
of these long expeditions. Collecting the branches was just that, collecting
branches; but distilling had Gary’s full attention, so he was very engaged in the
whole idea of gathering the tree trimmings and driving back to the distillery.
6

Marcel lowering the basket into the cooker to prepare for loading the cypress.
Loading the gnarly and challenging
cypress branches into the cooker.
Observing with Marcel as the cooker is unloaded.
7

Marcel overseeing the operation of his distillery. The plaque in the upper left corner denotes the construction
company, F. Eysseric et Fils, that built 90 percent of the distilleries in France at that time.
Distilling cypress is quite different than distilling aromatic plants and is very
specific in its process. The branches are thick and require a lengthy technique
of about 12 hours in the extraction chamber. The first distillation cycle lasts
between two to three hours; then the material is left until the next morning to
start the second cycle, which is about eight hours. This allows the branches and
shoots to soak in the steam from the previous day and to soften the wood to
make it easier to extract the essential oil.
The two-phase heating technique was new to Gary and very educational. Using
this knowledge, he developed his own proprietary process for the many different
conifers he distilled in northern Idaho and Canada. Gary was an insatiable learner
who continually asked questions, wanting to know more and see it all.
Marcel was already thinking about retiring, and I was considering the idea of
taking over his distillery. However, in the early 1990s, the French environmental
protection laws pertaining to distillation became increasingly strict. Marcel’s
distillery, as well as the majority of other distilleries, were operating traditionally
by using the distilled plant material, called chaff or straw, as fuel for the boiler to
produce steam for the ongoing distillation batches. However, to produce steam
quickly, some distillers burned tires in the fire box, which caused an enormous
8

Distilled plant material taken from the
cooker to be burned as fuel for the boiler.
Marcel keeping an eye on the firebox, and the kids too!
Nicolas in my backpack, Jane in the middle, and Véréna on Gary’s shoulders, exploring the boneyard of discarded
mechanical farm equipment; a common sight for Gary.
amount of pollution. The water from the steam used in the distillation then ran
into the waterways, causing major problems for anyone or anything using that
water. For example, crayfish, traditionally found in waterways close to Marcel’s
distillery, disappeared as soon as the distillation started.
9

In the morning, clouds of black smoke surrounded the distilleries, polluting
the air and making it difficult for those working in the distillery to breathe,
as well as for those living in the surrounding areas. The new environmental
laws required that distilleries change completely, which necessitated enormous
investments to comply with the new standards or to build a completely new and
modern distillery. The problem was that with the low price of essential oils at
that time, our profit margins were already extremely thin or nonexistent.
When I met Gary, I already knew I was not going to take after Marcel, who
was determined to retire in any case, not related to the changing laws that would
dramatically affect his business. Marcel was amenable and ready to give Gary a
lot of information, and Gary appreciated his attitude.
To avoid competition in business, people do not usually share their trade
secrets. Gary felt that reluctance in the beginning when he first started traveling
to France to learn from the French; but after he gained Marcel’s trust, they built
an unspoken friendship. Marcel was totally different with Gary. He invited
Gary to spend time in the distillery, ask questions, gather information, take
measurements, and make all the drawings he wanted of the stills.
Marcel became Gary’s mentor, and Gary spent as much time as he could
learning the art of distillation. He was excited to see a large distillery in
operation and to study how it worked. It is clear that having the best machine in
the world is useless if you do not understand how it works.
Marcel and I did not know Gary very well, but we felt that he could make a
significant contribution. Back then, we were in contact only with people from
the fragrance world who had a particular mindset. They were very competitive,
would not divulge the names of suppliers, and never shared their recipes,
formulas, or any secrets or discoveries.
Gary was not like that. From our very first encounter, I felt his strong and deep
sincerity, which was the foundation that enabled us to develop our long-lasting
relationship, even though he was not yet a client. From the start, Gary, Marcel,
and I developed a strong sense of trust from which we built an efficient and
constructive collaboration without ever signing a contract to make it official.
During that first visit, I took Gary to the producers who supplied Marcel’s
distillery with lavender plant material. Besides the distillation process, Gary
showed interest in the harvesting methods and the equipment necessary for
10

Gary always carried a pocket notebook so he could make sketches of what he saw and ideas that came into his head.
I enjoyed taking Gary to the French perfumeries so he could see how they use essential oils.
harvesting lavender, about which he knew very little. His questions were
surprisingly relevant, including wanting to know at what height the lavender
plants should be cut.
Gary had an enquiring mind and an understanding of the world. As well as
being an all-around good mechanic, he was very self-reliant due to living in
isolated places with limited help in case of problems.
11

The cabin where Gary grew up in the mountains outside of Challis, Idaho, 1949–1965.
Growing up in the mountains, far away from neighbors and townspeople,
life was more about survival. Gary had no choice but to become an adaptable,
multi-skilled young man, learning how to repair vehicles, care for horses, and
farm the land.
Gary had a farmer’s wisdom that simultaneously intimidated and worried the
people with whom he crossed paths. An American coming to Provence asking
questions was disconcerting to the local farmers and sometimes a bit frightening
because of their lack of understanding.
Interestingly enough, once back home, Gary began building his distillery from
designs based on what he saw and drew in his little notebooks. He sometimes
even improved on what we had in France. He redesigned the very harvesting
machines he had watched in operation to make them more efficient.
I was amazed at Gary’s ingenuity, especially with his fabrication of the first
extraction chamber that he shaped and welded in the garage of the old farmhouse
in St. Maries, Idaho. He also built his first planting machine using old car axles
and other pieces of unused materials found at the farm, which was quite clever.
12

I remember when he called me and asked me to buy a lavender harvester and
ship it to him. He told me that there was no harvesting equipment for lavender
in the United States, and as his fields expanded, he couldn’t harvest without a
real lavender harvester. I found a used one for him and wondered how long it
would hold out, but Gary didn’t care. He wanted that machine.
I purchased and sent him that very old lavender harvester, which had an oldfashioned
cutting system he understood and appreciated. Today that machine is
on display in Utah at the Mona farm.
The second harvester I sent was a newer harvester that had great
improvements, as the French market was always pioneering inventions in the
lavender harvesting industry.
That harvester was so important that Gary later fabricated a larger and more
efficient one in the shop at the Mona farm. He was always looking for ways to
improve the farm equipment, so he used the fabrication shop in Mona to build
many different farm implements.
Gary and I in Henri Viaud’s laboratory exchanging ideas.
13

Gary and I on an old harvester on our farm in France in 1992.
The planter Gary built in the garage vastly reduced the time required for planting at St. Maries in 1993.
14

Before Gary returned home, I
introduced him to Henri Viaud,
one of my clients who worked with
Marcel and who was known as a
pioneer in extracting essential oils
and selling them to the public, as
well as to vendors for distribution
in pharmacies and wellness shops.
At that time, there was only one
type and quality of lavender, the one
produced by the distilleries. Henri
already had an impressive selection of
about 100 essential oils that he listed
in an aromatherapy catalog.
The harvester loaded into the container for shipment to
Idaho in 1994.
A modified French harvester Gary painted and put to work in the field at the Mona farm in 1998.
15

A lavender harvester Gary fabricated in Mona, Utah, in 1999.
Early distillers that Gary built are displayed at the Mona farm. The top half of the silver cooker on the left is the original
distiller Gary welded together from two pressure cookers in which the first lavender was distilled in 1991.
16

Henri Viaud with Gary and I in front of the house in Vers sur Méouge, where my children grew up.
Jane and I with Gary holding Nicolas.
Gary was amazed at the number of oils Henri had, and even though Gary
came to France with little money, he spent what little he did have on dozens
of vials and lavender seeds before flying back home. Little did I know that an
amazing adventure had just begun.
17

18

— II —
MY GRANDMOTHER’S
LAVENDER
To fully understand the origin of this story and my background, I’d like to
tell you about my childhood. It is said that one’s life is influenced by the events
experienced during the first years of life with one’s family, which includes the
joy, hope, frustration, outrage, and perhaps
disappointment family members can cause.
My grandparents, both paternal and maternal,
all made a marked impact on my life.
My paternal grandmother, Anne-Marie Landel,
was an energetic woman, dynamic and healthy.
She bragged that she had never been to the
dentist, nor did she ever need to have her teeth
fixed, a sign of great health, according to her.
She lived in a pretty house on one of the largest
properties with a vast garden in Ormenans, a very
small village in the region of Franche-Comté on
the eastern border of France.
My grandmother, Anne-Marie Landel,
after raising her children.
The village of Ormenans.
19

When Anne-Marie was in her 40s,
her husband, my grandfather, died
of tuberculous during World War II,
so I did not know him. This left my
grandmother alone with five young
children. Fortunately for her, she had
enough money and was able to raise them
without needing to work, even after her
husband’s death.
My parents were married in 1950 in
Pargnan in the region of Champagne in
eastern France, close to my grandmother’s
house, where I later often went during
the holidays. I mostly remember the smell
My mother and father, Dominique and Sabine
Landel, on their wedding day. My grandmother is of delicious bread in the morning; the
walking behind my parents after the ceremony.
smell of cancoillotte, a runny cheese from
Franche-Comté; and the food prepared by the maid over the wood-burning
stove. However, my most vivid memory is the strong smell of lavender from the
cupboard in the room where I slept from time to time.
Many old books about aromatic plants and distillation, along with antique bottles of essential oils and early
medicinal products, on display in the museum at the Young Living headquarters in Lehi, Utah.
20

Bundles of lavender are popular everywhere.
During the day, we would put small bags of lavender flowers in the cupboards
and drawers to repel moths. My grandmother and aunt made them with the
lavender from the garden, and the smell was particularly strong. I used to press the
flowers in the palms of my hands to release the scent. I would then put one under
my pillow so I could enjoy its smell throughout the night. I have never forgotten
this fragrance, which is strongly linked to the feeling of well-being for me.
As my grandmother got older, she moved to a smaller house, where I spent
holidays during my teenage years with one of her daughters, my aunt Marie-
Paule, and her sons. When my cousin Philippe and I saw each other, we would
go to the bakery and buy delicious-smelling country bread.
My cousins had more freedom than I did, and life seemed easy for them. Their
father, Paul-Claude Racamier, was a famous psychiatrist who wrote many books,
which allowed them to have an unrestricted upbringing. We rode motorcycles
and listened to music like The Beatles, which before then was unknown to
me. I think it was with my cousins that I discovered and developed the idea of
breaking down barriers and restraints.
21

I quickly became rebellious and
anti-establishment, which would
probably not have happened if I had
spent more time with my maternal
grandparents, who provided a
much stricter education in their
environment.
Every July we went to my greatgrandmother’s
estate, a mansion
located in Brittany close to the Gulf
of Morbihan on the northwestern
coast of France, where their three
daughters and many grandchildren
would join them.
My maternal grandfather, whom
we called Bon papa, managed a paper mill, which enabled the family to live quite
comfortably. They had domestic workers on this family property: a cook, a farmer
who produced most of what was needed to live self-sufficiently, and Petit Louis
who took care of the property and tended to an extraordinary garden.
Once a week, the farmer made
bread with the wheat he grew for the
household. This may have steered me
to become a baker later in life. Every
Wednesday morning, I would stand
by the old wood oven, which he had
started up the previous evening, to
cook the old-fashioned loaves of bread.
In addition, as soon as they came
ashore, the local fishermen offered fish
to our family before anyone else.
My grandmother Therese, whom
we called Bonne maman, was quite
domineering and took us to mass
My maternal grandfather, Gerard Kemlin. Sadly, I don’t
every Sunday. Before each meal, we have a photo of his wife, Therese, my grandmother.
I hardly recognize myself from those rebellious days;
maybe not rebellious, but those days of nonconformity.
22

had to follow a very strict routine. At the first ring of the bell, we had to wash
up and change after coming back from the beach—sitting down for a meal
half-dressed or in our bathing suits was not an option. Ten minutes later, on
the second ring of the bell, we had to be standing in line in front of the dining
room door so we could walk in on time. Having 20 to 25 people for each meal
required organization and discipline.
Even though life was very different with my maternal and paternal grandparents,
I quickly clashed with the two well-off families, while unknowingly taking
advantage of my situation at the same time. Having dyslexia and dysorthographia
(a spelling disorder that accompanies dyslexia), I felt rejected at school, where I
spent most of my time in the back of the classroom waiting for the day to end.
I never found my place in the education system. My schooling was so poor
that even the Catholic school where I was enrolled refused to admit me for my
senior year. My parents had to put me in a test-prep “factory” so I could pass my
baccalaureate in 1970.
The main reason I rebelled was because of the role my parents held in this
family, especially on my maternal side. They never understood my father or
included him, especially since he was constantly confronted with financial
difficulties.
When I went on holidays with my family, I lived a comfortable life; then
I would go home, back to my problems and discomfort. Throughout my
childhood, I experienced both worlds, completely different and conflicting. This
is probably when long-lasting and conflicting feelings of inequality and injustice
started to arise.
In 1961, everything changed when a friend from church asked my father to
take over an insurance agency after the manager retired. As my father climbed
back up the social ladder, my family’s opinion of him started to change. I was
nine then. I remember noticing the change that took place. The person who had
offered my father the position trained him, and we moved into an old threestory
house, where our lives became easier and more financially stable.
Thanks to my grandmother and aunt Marie-Paule, I loved lavender. I forged
a non-conformist and revolutionary character which led me to turn to natural
products and essential oils.
23

24

— III —
COMPARING OUR
TRIALS OF LIFE
When an illness affects a loved one, especially when it is incurable, our
life choices are impacted dramatically. My mother’s illness was a catalyst for
awareness for my family and me, as Gary’s accident was for him.
As far back as I can remember, my mother had always been ill. The symptoms
started very early. My three siblings and I were born within three and a half years
of each other. You can imagine that there was more than one whipping at home,
probably because my mother had a difficult life. Even though she was very brave
and appeared to be very happy, she easily lost her temper.
Born very prematurely, not quite seven months into the pregnancy, my
mother should not have lived. In fact, she received the last anointing from the
local priest when she was born. Everyone thought she was going to die, and even
though she survived, her health remained very fragile.
The unknown adventure begins.
Sitting on the lap of my father, Dominique Landel.
25

I am second from the left with my siblings.
When my father started working for the insurance
company and we moved into the old three-story
house, I remember how tired my mother was every
time she went up the wooden staircase, holding on
to the banister. When she reached the top, she was
so out of breath that she always needed to sit down.
At first, no one could tell us what the problem was.
Out of frustration, my father kept telling her to “shake
up a bit” to try to forget the exhaustion. I remember
her face etched with pain when she moved, constantly
Me at 14 years old. Growing up
tired, irritable, and extremely reactive.
wasn’t easy.
Over the years, my mother’s illness continued
to worsen, affecting her balance and eyesight. She could not get up or walk, so
much so that my father hired someone to get us ready for school every morning.
Their relationship grew very tense until there was some semblance of diagnosis.
The doctors discovered that she had a degenerative neurological illness. From
that moment on, my father changed completely and devoted his time to her. He
even took an early retirement at the age of 60 to take care of her entirely.
26

When I think about my mother, I think about the extreme pain she suffered
every waking moment. During my adolescence, we would visit her in her
bedroom, since she had to remain lying down. She was tough because life had
been tough with her. She died at the young age of 59.
Years earlier, before my sister’s birth, my mother was very tired. While we
were still living in our small apartment, my Aunt Jeanne, the Countess of
Martimprey, invited me to stay with her to give my mother some relief.
I felt horribly abandoned. Aunt Jeanne had a strong personality and was like
a witch to me, standing very tall at 6 feet 3 inches, and was always dressed in
black and gray from head to toe. To add icing on the cake, she lived in a gloomy
castle where the gardeners spent their time scaring me to keep me out of trouble.
Their favorite pastime was to show me an unexploded shell in the wall of the
castle and tell me it could explode at any moment. I went home traumatized
from my stay with Aunt Jeanne. Obviously, she did all this out of kindness for
my mother, but I did not see it that way. Since she was very wealthy, she spent
summers in her castle in the countryside and winters in her apartment in Paris.
Aunt Jeanne’s husband was the mayor and leader of the local resistance.
He died while being tortured by the Germans during the war. This terrible
trauma toughened her, and even years later, she never wanted to hear about the
Germans. When I told her I had a German pen pal, she was quite upset. After a
few weeks with her, I went home and life went back to normal.
My mother’s illness became a constant part of our everyday life, and we coped
with it the best we could. Even though I was not an A student, I considered
studying medicine. In the end, my brother Gerard, who was very good
academically, chose this profession. As for me, my parents suggested I study in a
new business school in Paris with experience-based training, an aspect I enjoyed
as I spent half of school doing internships in companies. I had no idea that the
last internship would turn into a real job.
In 1973, I graduated and was doing my final internship in a branch of a large
French company located in the Champagne region making rubber seals for the
automotive industry. After my internship, I advanced to the position of a middle
manager, but I was unable to adapt to the rigid environment. After six months
on the verge of depression, I resigned.
27

That was when my mother’s neurodegenerative disease was finally diagnosed.
She had been to many hospitals, undergone many tests and spinal taps, and no
one had managed to discover what was wrong with her until then.
Undoubtedly, her journey influenced my brother’s vocation. However, after
three years of medicine, he decided to change his career path. He gave up
everything, moved to the countryside, and lived self-sufficiently off the land. He
met a carpenter who taught him the trade.
My parents were devastated, as they could not understand why he abandoned
the great prospects of medicine. After a year of pressure from them, he finished
his studies but took the same step back a few years later after settling in Brittany
as a doctor with four children to support. He closed his practice and became a
carpentry teacher for a year; but once again, he changed his mind and worked as
a doctor until his retirement.
All his life, my brother took an interest in nature, plants, and anything that
could have relieved the suffering of our mother in a natural way. As a doctor, his
practice was as natural as possible, always letting conventional medicine take a
back seat.
His research made him realize that the lack of “good fat” in modern industrial
foods destroys essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. He understood that
ingestible oils sold on the market were unbalanced and led to serious health
consequences, specifically neurologically speaking. In his research, he found
balanced and non-refined organic oils with good ratios of omega-3, omega-6,
and omega-9 fatty acids to balance our mother’s diet. This was difficult at the
time, but his commitment and recommendations helped her a lot.
At the time, no one talked about natural products. The word organic did
not exist. The world was convinced that pesticides were going to save us. We
were dangerously lacking natural and non-refined products. As for me, after
my unfortunate middle-manager experience in Langres, I was lost and did not
know what to do. That’s when my brother encouraged me to start working in a
business that distributed natural products.
It was a happy coincidence when Henri-Charles Geffroy started the business
La Vie Claire, a chain of stores selling organic products that opened a shop
where I was living in Châlons-en-Champagne. This was where my brother
28

La Vie Claire, an organic products store chain founded by Henri-Charles Geffroy in 1948 that is still in operation today.
In 2018, it had a network of 324 stores.
bought organic products for our mother. My brother introduced me to the man
managing the shop, who became a family friend, and the boss hired me.
The story started with him, and for a whole year, I learned so much about
natural products. Due to my provocative attitude, which annoyed my family to
no end, I received many insults. Years later, the people who had not understood
my interest in natural products started to become interested due to the potential
profits. It is important to remember that those who defended organic products
then were considered dangerous and were watched closely. Talking about healthy
foods was not well accepted.
Henri-Charles Geffroy, the owner of La Vie Claire, was mainly concerned with
making his business, which was unknown to the public, profitable. He decided
to open other branches in the nearby towns of Reims and Épernay to start a
distribution system. The shop was not selling enough, so we decided to sell in
other markets as well, enabling us to lay the groundwork for setting up new shops.
As soon as we saw potential, we looked for new places and opened more stores.
I drove around extensively at the time and met a lot of people. Some people
asked me to bring products back to them on my way, so I started developing a
wholesale division. In 1975, I created a company separate from the La Vie Claire
29

shops, which I named Nature Champagne, and distributed organic products to
small health food stores and cooperatives.
This job was more than full time. As the market was very small then, my
delivery stops were far apart and took a lot of time. I drove from northeastern
France up to Lille, as well as to a large organic shop in the center of London.
After five years of such intense work, I was getting tired.
While traveling in Switzerland in 1979, I met Jane, my future wife. She was
an exchange student from California studying in Aix-en-Provence. She joined
our headquarters in Champagne when I hired her as a cleaner and cook for my
company. However, her parents insisted she go back to California to finish her
studies, and I considered going with her.
I agreed that Jane should finish her schooling and eventually convinced her to
return home. I didn’t want to be left behind, so I left my company to a cousin,
and in February 1981, Jane and I left for California and were married soon after.
Jane and I after we first met.
30

A new chapter in life begins in 1981.
The only thing Jane’s mother allowed her to decide was the type of cake, and the carrot cake was delicious.
31

I left behind all that I had started with a peaceful mind knowing that a new
chapter in my life was beginning.
Jane’s parents welcomed me wholeheartedly into the family and organized a
beautiful Catholic wedding for us even though it was right in the middle of Lent.
Although they did not belong to the Catholic church, they knew it was important
to me that we were married with a Catholic ceremony, so they did everything
they could to make that possible. I was a little sad that no one from my family in
France could attend the wedding, but Jane’s brother kindly agreed to be my best
man, and he and everyone else made me feel as though I belonged with them.
It was a wonderful time in our lives, and we were excited about our future
together. We did not have a lot of time for our “getaway” because of school and
our commitments, but we had a lovely weekend honeymoon in Carmel, which
was beautiful and romantic and certainly a new American adventure.
After the wedding, Jane went back to school, and I started learning American
English at the university while working odd jobs. One day in Fresno, Jane’s
hometown, I met a Frenchman who was starting a bakery. I started working with
him and learned how to make bread, living an old dream. I worked from 4 a.m. to
10 or 11 a.m. making bread, while my friend worked on making the pastries.
I met many people, one of them being a supplier of bakery equipment and
ovens. The supplier offered investors the opportunity to set up small French
bakeries on a turnkey basis, with all the necessary equipment, recipes, and staff
coming directly from France. In 1983, he asked me to work with him. We left
for Los Angeles, where Jane, then a graduate, started teaching French in a high
school. That adventure lasted two years.
In June 1985, I heard about Flying Foods, a small New York-based company
that imported high-end fresh food products such as fish, caviar, fruit, and
vegetables by plane from all over the
world and distributed them to the finest
restaurants and luxury shops in the city.
The managers considered creating a
West Coast branch, a position for which
I applied and was hired. Again, a new
adventure started for me.
The Flying Foods logo. Sadly, they are no
longer in business.
32

The clients were all very different, perhaps unusual, especially those working
in the film industry in Hollywood. I remember the French actor Jean Yanne,
very famous at the time, who was living in Los Angeles with his wife, originally
from Brittany, and who loved to cook. When I delivered fish that needed to be
filleted, I would call her and she would come right away. She put on her apron
and prepared the fish in no time at all.
I remember that period as being particularly crazy and stressful. When a client
requested something, we had to respond as quickly as possible. Several times,
our services were requested for an actress who was known for throwing fits on
the set of the show Dallas. One day she blocked filming until she was given
Dom Pérignon champagne and caviar. Every time we got an emergency call,
we had to deliver whatever was requested. This was not sustainable, and the
business began to dissolve in 1985.
My mother passed away shortly thereafter, leaving my father alone. I started
thinking about returning to France, especially with the birth of our daughter,
Véréna, in April 1986, so late in the year, we returned home and settled close
to Reims with my father. To say that the move was difficult would be an
understatement.
Leaving sunny California where
we had lived for five years to settle in
northern France, gray and rainy, was
a real shock. Everything was gloomy,
including the climate, the people, and
the economy. It was definitely not
an environment we were used to or
enjoyed.
Thankfully, I continued to work for
Flying Foods. When the company faced
coordination issues between France and
the United States, they asked me to manage the suppliers in France up to their
arrival at the Roissy Airport. I knew it would be a challenging job, but it was our
ticket to an easy move back to France.
I worked for Flying Foods for nearly three months until they made a masterful
mess of a New Year’s Eve. The forwarding agent in charge of loading the delivery
My first child, Véréna, born in Burbank, California, was
such a joy.
33

I worked as the Technical Director for Chianal Boulangerie Viennoiseries Industrials in Roman, France.
did not wake up, and the orders never left. With all the famous chefs waiting for
their products for their New Year’s Eve menu, I was out of a job.
One day traveling on the Paris Metro on my way to meet a recruiter, I saw
an ad in a newspaper looking for interns for an export sales training program
located to the south of Lyon. The only condition was to find a French company
willing to develop its market in the United States or Canada.
I heard that a semi-commercial pastry company located in Romans-sur-Isère
in the Drôme region was considering transferring technology to the United
States. Since I had experience with this kind of job, had worked in the field,
and spoke English fluently, they hired me immediately.
I received subsidies from the European community to build a factory in
Haiti to make frozen food products and send them frozen to Miami, where we
installed cooking units to bake, wrap, and distribute them.
After working on this for two years, and right before the study was about to
finish, we learned that the Americans refused to work with Haiti because of the
rampant cases of AIDS in the country, and it all fell apart.
34

Two years later, I left the company for economic reasons, and out of sheer
luck, I came across a field of lavender in southern Drôme. I fell in love with
the climate, the scenery, and, of course, the beautiful lavender. By late 1989,
my grandmother’s lavender had finally caught up with me when a lavender
cooperative wanted to develop business abroad.
I applied and was hired while Jane was pregnant with our son, Nicolas. The
places we both worked had the strong scent of lavandin. I have always loved
the smell, and I knew that my son would soon love it too; but because of
her pregnancy, Jane could not stand the smell, and yet she loved the smell of
helichrysum, which became her favorite oil and still is today.
In 1990, I left the company to manage a small gift shop with local and
organic products in Séderon. That is when I started to distribute essential oils to
the public. I personally packaged the oils in small vials and identified them with
homemade labels.
I was also working on the design of the Diffuseur Nicolas, an essential oil
diffuser I invented after my son’s birth that was unbreakable, autonomous, easy
to transport, and ideal for traveling. I also considered starting a line of essential
oil blends for the public.
Introducing the Diffuseur Nicolas at Young Living’s 2000 convention.
The Diffuseur Nicolas.
35

While I was not quite finished with the diffuser project, I met Jean Valnet,
who was considered to be one of the greatest specialists in herbal medicine and
a pioneer in aromatherapy. Dr. Valnet suggested that I use one of his studies to
demonstrate the beneficial effects of essential oils in atmospheric purification
and gave me some formulas with which I could experiment.
This encounter made a significant impact in many ways, as it confirmed my
idea and encouraged me to carry it out. Little by little, my pool of customers
grew with private individuals who first made purchases in the shop and then
ordered regularly by mail.
When Nicolas was about one year old, we lived next to Marcel Espieu
who became a friend. Marcel distilled and exported essential oils to Italy and
proposed that I distribute for him, particularly in the United States. That is how
I ended up at the trade show in October 1990 where I met Gary.
On February 8, 1973, at the age of 24 while logging high in the mountains, a
tree branch broke off and hit Gary in the head, leaving him unconscious in the
hospital for about three weeks, not expected to live. After about six weeks in a
coma, he woke up with amnesia that he drifted in and out of for over a month.
Gary’s description of his accident is hard to imagine.
36

Gary’s internal injuries were extensive, including damage to every vertebra
in his spine, leaving him with a prognosis that he would be confined to a
wheelchair for life.
This debilitating accident left Gary in a horrible situation, similar to what my
mother experienced when she went undiagnosed for so many years. Gary was
also abandoned by the medical establishment that assumed nothing could be
done to help him walk again.
Gary was a strong and determined man. Nothing could stop him up until that
point, and the thought of being in a wheelchair for life was unbearable. Losing
everything he had worked for, having no resources, and being helpless gave
him little reason to live. His wife could not deal with the trauma and took the
children and left. Gary was left in his parents’ care in an overwhelming state of
depression.
It was devastating for him, so Gary decided he was going to get out of the
wheelchair or get out of life. After two failed attempts at suicide, he decided to
fast himself to death. The doctors said it was a phenomenon of the human body
that when he fasted, his body did not receive enough nutrients to manufacture
scar tissue, so the nerves began to reroute and reconnect, which resulted in
movement in his big toe.
When Gary regained feeling in his legs, the pain was even more intense and
oftentimes unbearable. Conventional medicine offered him only a life of drugs
with little relief for his misery, so he chose a different path of looking for natural
ways to heal his body.
Gary decided to go to school to study nutrition, herbs, and modalities relating
to natural healing, anything that would help. Information was limited, and
he wanted to know more. He saw an ad in a local newspaper for nutritional
counseling at a clinic in Baja, California. He applied, was accepted, packed up
everything, and left for his new path of learning.
Within a short time at his new job, however, he realized that nutrition was not
really what they were concerned about, and Gary felt that the patients were not
being served well. That was not for him, so 10 days later, he left and decided to
create his own research center to study the effects of herbs, nutrition, and other
natural substances in the human body.
37

Gary riding in the mountains.
Gary jousting at the Mona farm.
38

Gary was a walking miracle, and people flocked to him to learn his secret,
which was diet and determination. It is said that the greatest challenges of life
are what forge a person’s character and can bring great things to the world.
It was in this little research clinic that Gary was introduced to essential oils,
which took him down an unknown path of discovery that would affect millions
of lives around the world. This path became his vision and his mission to serve
God’s children.
It took Gary 13 years to walk without assistance; but with his perseverance
and determination, years later he was running marathons, riding his horse, and
doing what he was told was impossible.
Gary even brought medieval jousting to his farm in Mona, which gave him great
joy. Today, his son Jacob also loves jousting and is carrying on that tradition.
Gary lived in pain every day of his life and received many medical diagnoses.
Doctors were never able to understand how he could walk with so many broken
and crushed vertebrae, not to mention all the other internal injuries.
With Gary’s terrible accident and my experience with my mother’s illness, we
both had great challenges in our lives, which brought us together in a natural
and spontaneous way. We had many of the same opinions about life, about
using natural products, and about the benefits of using essential oils as part of a
daily wellness regimen. I knew we were going to do great things together; it was
inevitable.
Gary and I both loved to cook, so at the end of the last chapter, I have shared
some of my favorite recipes. Gary and I also had many cooking ideas, and we
experimented with einkorn, which I am still doing now at home. I have given
you some recipes to have fun with if you want to add einkorn into your way of
cooking.
39

40

— IV —
OUR COMMON VISION
The cornerstone to the strong relationship between Gary and me was our
common vision of essential oils and lavender in particular. In some respects,
Young Living would not be what it is today without beautiful Provence, the
historic cradle of lavender production, where planting, growing, harvesting, and
distillation techniques were developed. But conversely, Provence would not be
what it is today without Young Living.
Looking out over the lavender fields of the Simiane valley from the castle.
41

Workers harvested lavender by hand.
Families worked together to harvest the lavender.
Carts pulled by mules transported the lavender to the distillery.
42

The firebox, the lavender, and the cooker are
ready for distillation.
Sacks of lavender waiting to be distilled.
In the 1990s, Provence was the most important producer of lavender in the
world, a position it had held since 1900. Lavender was the main source of
economic income for the region of Haute-Provence, located around the Mont
Ventoux, where its cultivation started.
Before 1900, lavender was harvested in the wild. Traditionally, with the help
of mules or donkeys, farmers set off with small copper stills that they placed by
a river or spring for distillation. The plants, which grew only in the wild, were
harvested and then distilled.
It is thought that women with young children started the production of
lavender between 1900 and 1902. They transplanted the wild plants closer to
their houses to harvest the flowers while keeping an eye on sleeping children
through open windows. Population lavender, as it was called, was the same
lavender used by the Romans for its many virtues, which was exactly what
fascinated Gary and me.
When Gary visited me the first time, he was already convinced that oil
quality made an enormous difference when it came to effectiveness. It was
quite fascinating that Gary could actually smell different compounds in an
oil and determine if the oil had a complete profile or was missing important
43

Lavender was packed down into the cooker with a tractor tire
filled with cement.
Barrels of lavender being filled for the perfumery.
Lavender fields dot the land in all directions.
44

Gary teaching members while visiting the distillery in France.
components. From the beginning, I was surprised to hear how important it was
to him. He wanted essential oils to be completely natural and pure without any
contamination.
We talked about perfume quality, which was satisfied with the fragrant
molecules captured mainly in the first stages of distillation. Everything I knew
about essential oils came from the traditional medicinal approach that existed
then. However, Gary, shared an entirely new concept.
Gary believed an essential oil could be effective only if it contained all of the
compounds in their natural ratios, which included both the fragile and heavier
compounds that could be extracted only with low temperature and low pressure.
This was something few people were aware of or really cared about, but Gary
had to have the best. He understood before anyone else that the quality of an
oil depends on the time and temperature of the distillation. This was unlike
most distillers, who were in a hurry to get the distillation done without any
consideration for quality.
Even today, 30 years later, it is difficult for me to say whether it was
Gary’s intuition or scientific substantiation. Very few books were written on
aromatherapy, and virtually no one had knowledge of the techniques of modern
45

chemical composition and analysis. I often wondered how Gary could have
known about this. His ideas and knowledge were far beyond what was known in
the industry. He was far beyond his time.
Before meeting Gary, we distilled lavender for 45 minutes instead of an hour.
We didn’t know that the extra quarter of an hour made a major difference and was
when the heavier molecules in the 5 percent of the final volume were extracted.
Because they were very costly to extract, these heavier molecules did not have
significant importance for perfumers and the food industry. In aromatherapy,
however, these molecules are critical to produce a balanced oil.
It was still too early to know about therapeutic quality then, besides the fact
that the distillers could not yet tell if an oil was complete. The words therapy or
therapeutic did not exist when talking about essential oils, which meant that the
term aromatherapy had not yet come into existence.
AFNOR (Association Française de Normalisation, or French Standardization
Association) publishes standards for many things, including many essential oils.
AFNOR has only one standard for lavender which specifies the constituents
and at what percentages they should be present in the oil, a standard that was
designed for the needs of the perfume industry.
The official standards did not specify the fact
that there needed to be a complete distillation for
lavender to be effective. Gary spent a lot of time
convincing the distillers to agree to this process
because buyers had to pay more for the essential oil.
Marcel Espieu was one of the first to embrace
this new idea, but to avoid a long line of farmers
waiting for their harvest, he decided to distill
Gary’s lavender last. He knew that Gary was
ready to pay the increased price for a high-quality
product because of the aromatherapeutic value.
After Gary learned about essential oils in 1983,
he wanted to produce superior oils. Being so
convinced of their effectiveness he was always
Marcel loved his Young Living hat.
looking for an opportunity to experiment on
46

Gary applying lavender to the minor burn on his arm.
himself. During a three-day seminar, he applied a few drops of lavender oil on a
minor burn to show how it helped relieve the irritation. Everyone in attendance
loved watching Gary make new discoveries.
Gary was always creative and nothing stopped him when he wanted to prove
a point. He was a tough guy who suffered tremendously throughout his life. It is
said that pain is felt differently from one person to another, that it is a question
of constitution. I do not think Gary was insensitive to pain; he simply learned to
live with it. Above all, he felt he had a sacred mission from God: He needed to
share the benefits of essential oils with as many people as possible.
Once, while we were in Croatia, I asked Gary how he came up with his
formulas. He replied that inspiration came at night, sent to him by his Father in
Heaven. Whether you believe this or not, it remains difficult to understand or
explain his ability to create essential oil formulas so precisely. That day, I better
understood Gary’s selfless character.
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Gary and I distilled blue tansy in the hotel room in Morocco with Nicolas’s miniature distiller that I borrowed without asking.
As far as I can remember, Gary never cared about money. His hope was to
help people and to make sure there were essential oils in each home. There are so
many stories that showed his state of mind and what drove him.
Twenty-five years ago, when Gary decided to develop a formula with very
rare and expensive essential oils, some people encouraged him to change its
composition, but he wouldn’t
budge. Price was not an issue
with him. On one occasion, we
ran out of one of these precious
oils, blue tansy (Tanacetum
annuum), which is grown and
distilled in Northern Morocco.
No problem. Gary asked me to
go there to build a relationship
with farmers and work with them
to increase the production locally.
Gary never gave into easy
choices, especially not for
Gary and I enjoyed visiting with the owners of the blue tansy
distillery in Morocco.
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Gary was fascinated with the blue tansy and took a lot of pictures.
profitability. The single most important aspect for him was the quality of
essential oils, and this vision encouraged him to continually move onward and
upward. Being a good listener and observer, he never missed an opportunity that
he could quickly turn into projects and specific actions.
Some people might get upset when they hear that Gary was cutting down and
distilling Christmas trees, but the story is fascinating and makes me laugh when
I hear what happened.
One summer afternoon, Gary and his wife, Mary, were driving the winding,
country roads surrounded by forests and fields in Northern Idaho to look for
fields of Idaho tansy they could harvest. They came across a field full of rows of
neatly planted conifer trees that were being cut down and pushed into piles to
be burned. Gary stopped, jumped out of the car, and went to see why the trees
were being removed. To his surprise, he learned that the trees were overgrown
Christmas trees, and the field was being cleared in preparation for a new, more
profitable crop. Gary offered to remove the trees if he could have them for free,
an offer which the landowner readily accepted.
The Christmas tree industry was being taken over by cheap, artificial trees
imported from China, so many farmers were moving away from Christmas
49

trees and looking for something to replace them with. Eventually, Gary made
agreements with several landowners to clear the trees from their land.
Gary had to chip the trees before he could distill, which was a lot of work;
but he had a sense that the oils from the trees would produce something really
great. He spent a couple of years determining that the secret to obtain the best
oil was to distill the conifer trees during the cold, harsh time of winter when the
conditions were difficult due to the heavy snow and ice.
For many years, Gary hauled the chips to St. Maries, Idaho, about 120 miles
away on a very treacherous road covered with snow and ice. As the demand
for conifer oils grew, it became evident that he needed to build a distillery in
northern Idaho.
One time when I visited the farm, the temperatures were around -4° F, but
that didn’t seem to slow anyone down. Gary often skidded the trees out of the
ravines and tree-dense areas with horses so the big trucks wouldn’t tear up the
ground. It was amazing to watch as Gary worked with the horses, and there was
so much enthusiasm, especially when Young Living members came to work and
help with the harvest.
Grappling forks were attached to the
excavator to feed the trees into the chipper.
Overgrown Christmas trees are
forwarded to the chipper.
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Regardless of the conditions, Gary drove his semitruck almost every day to deliver the balsam chips from Highland
Flats to the distillery in St. Maries, Idaho.
Gary used horses to skid the trees to the chipper so he didn’t have to use machinery that would tear up the ground.
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Beautiful oil droplets bubbling up in the separator.
Members loved it, and the aroma from the distillation was fabulous. I’m
sure Gary thought of those early days when he first learned to distill cypress.
He probably had no idea how valuable that would be until he started distilling
conifers at his own farm.
Another time, I told Gary the story about the thieves who robbed the
dead and the dying in the Middle Ages during the great plague in Europe
without ever catching the disease. They were perfumers whose secret was to
cover their bodies and clothing with the extracted essence of medicinal plants
such as thyme, rosemary, oregano, and clove to protect themselves, not even
knowing why the plants had such power. One of those recipes is still kept in the
courthouse in the city of Toulouse, France.
There is much fascination about the thieves who protected themselves with herbs and oils during the plagues of the
13th and 14th centuries.
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Gary loved history and was a big fan of the medieval era, and this discovery
made him even more curious. He was immediately hooked and began
experimenting with his first formulas. He was so fascinated with these stories
and legends that as he traveled, he continued his research in many libraries and
museum archives. It was much easier for him in the British Museum because
most of the information was written in English.
Gary continued to work on his formula and added other essences that
the thieves (voleur in French) used, which had great cleansing benefits and
supported the immune system. When he returned to Utah, he began his research
with the science department at Weber State University to obtain real data that
would confirm what he believed to be a fabulous discovery. His popular Thieves
essential oil blend was formulated from this research.
Gary’s research on Thieves essential oil blend was published in the September/October 1998 edition of the Journal of
Essential Oil Research. The article is available online.
Beginning with Thieves essential oil blend, the entire line of Thieves products has continued to expand, bringing
wonderful, clean products that are good for the environment.
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Gary told me that he had been criticized throughout the years for using
Thieves as a name; but at that time, few knew the history behind this oil
blend. Today, this proprietary formula has been developed into a line of many
products, including chemical-free household cleaning products that are in
demand all over the world.
It puts a smile on my face when I think about our first conversations about
this medieval legend and how excited Gary was. I wonder if Thieves promoted
his idea of bringing medieval history and jousting to the farm. Whatever the
reason, the world has benefited from it.
In addition to lavender, two other oils were always particularly close to Gary’s
heart: helichrysum and frankincense. Helichrysum is the Latin name for a
flowering plant meaning “immortal” or “everlasting.”
Helichrysum is a small, bushy shrub measuring about one and a half feet
high with small and bright gold-yellow flowers that never wilt. Native to
Corsica, helichrysum is nicknamed “Immortelle” because of its longevity and
flowers that keep their brightness and beautiful gold color even when cut and
dried. Moreover, as a symbol of eternity during weddings, helichrysum was
traditionally placed in flower wreaths. Although found in the wild all around the
Balkans, it is particularly dense in Croatia.
Besides its everlasting beauty, helichrysum was used anciently by many for
its perceived medicinal benefits, such as supporting healthy circulation. There
are also many references to it being used as an elixir to promote longevity and
youthfulness, as well as overall wellness.
In 1991, I won a prize at the Inventors’ Fair in Marseille for my Diffuseur
Nicolas, so I traveled to Paris to take part in Marjolaine, the largest trade show
for natural products in France, hoping to sell more of my diffusers. That’s where
I discovered helichrysum.
In the booth next to me were two young Corsican women who were diffusing
helichrysum essential oil. We hit it off well and talked about the properties of
the plant and where to find it. It was basically unknown except for its usage as
a fixative in the perfume world, but it didn’t really sell very well. I was intrigued
with this new oil and wanted to know more.
54

When Gary decided to research helichrysum, I had the information he needed
and the details of the two Corsican producers with whom we started to work.
Gary became enamored with helichrysum, because he recognized its importance
for certain therapeutic uses. The more he talked about it, the more the demand
grew and exceeded the capacity of the Corsican distillers. Their business was
based on harvesting wild helichrysum, which they called wildcrafting.
I went to Croatia to see if it was possible to start cultivated helichrysum
production on a farm. Gary was already including helichrysum in his oil formulas,
but it was extremely difficult to buy. I had found some land, and Gary made a deal
with the landowners; but we lost everything because of the war in the Balkans.
In 1998, as the war was ending in Croatia, helichrysum was found only in
the wild, and there were no farms. When I arrived in Zagreb, Croatia, during
the soccer World Cup, I found myself in a pretty hotel and watched the French
team win against the Croatian team during the semi-finals. One of the hotel
managers advised me to stay in, as the Croatian fans were very angry that the
French had won.
There were not many tourists then, so I took his advice and stayed inside. The
country was in a bad state. Everything was destroyed, housing had collapsed,
and the city still felt like it was under socialism. Everything was gray and sad.
Outside of the cities, the countryside was beautiful. It was a bit surreal, as the
people were dressed like farmers from the 1960s. I had lost my luggage along the
way and was wearing an ill-fitting pink T-shirt. I looked absolutely ridiculous,
but people were very friendly and warm everywhere I went. I found out where
helichrysum grew in the wild in large quantities, which was in the hinterland
close to the Bosnian border.
Even though the war had just ended, tensions remained high between
Catholic Croatia and Muslim Bosnia. I met old farmers who harvested
helichrysum but did not distill it; they dried it and used it in herbal tea. They
also sold some of it to make extra money.
I was told about a Slovenian woman who heard that an American man wanted
to buy helichrysum essential oil and was investing in a distillery along the Serbo-
Croatian border. I met her and introduced myself as being from Young Living.
After we did business, I returned to Provence.
55

While in Croatia, Gary and I became friends with Goran Koran, a wellknown
vocal artist from Split, Croatia, who loved what Gary was doing and
chose to be our personal chauffeur while there.
Goran was a wonderful host while we were there.
Goran always kept us laughing.
Gary created a growing demand for
helichrysum which caused friction between
wild helichrysum pickers—especially
with the Bosnians and Croatians, who
were fighting over plots of land and
production. I watched them uproot plants
that contained as much root, soil, and
rock as the precious flower itself. This was
gradually destroying the fields and future
production. Gary decided to take charge
and grow his own helichrysum to stop a
total environmental disaster.
Beautiful helichrysum plants at the
farm in Croatia.
56

Birthday parties were a lot of fun in our family.
Nicolas started helping Dad at an early age.
I did not like flying and had two young children, responsibilities, and a store,
so I withdrew completely from international market research and chose to stay
around the Mediterranean, within a two-hour drive from home.
Young Living had a lavender farm in Simiane-la-Rotonde, so we brought
in some plants from Corsica and experimented with growing helichrysum at
our farm. The plants adapted well to the local habitat and even produced the
important constituents and chemical compounds usually found only in plants
from Corsica and the Balkans.
It was exciting for us, but the practicality was a challenge. Our farm was small,
and we needed it for the lavender. We could never produce enough to meet the demand.
So, Gary traveled to Split, Croatia, and contacted a farmer who was growing
helichrysum who only had one very small cooker for distillation. Gary's vision was
big, and he knew he wanted to produce much more than what this farmer could
distill, so he started looking at the possibility of building his own distillery.
It was so amazing that within only a few days, he purchased a manufacturing
plant, drew the design, and began building. He worked day and night, including
weekends and holidays, and in just 19 days, the distillery was operational. It
was big, efficient, and everyone was in awe of his magnificent accomplishment.
57

When Gary said he was going to do something, he did it, which was so typical
of him. It was truly a blessing because Young Living was no longer dependent
on an outside source for helichrysum oil.
Gary bought the building and built the distillery inside in 19 days—an amazing display of determination.
Lifting out the helichrysum straw after the first distillation in Croatia.
58

Gary was also fascinated with the oil of frankincense, which is extracted
from the gum resin that seeps from the trees that grow in East Africa and the
southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The oil is expensive because the resin is
difficult to harvest, does not yield large quantities of oil, and distillation requires
specialized equipment.
Historically, the resin was burned as an incense for religious rituals to purify
the air and to open the mind to spiritual awareness. The oil was used anciently
for physical, mental, and spiritual applications. It was highly prized by royalty
and not available to the masses.
Gary discovered that frankincense had constituents that seemed to improve
communication between people on a spiritual level. He was convinced that
beyond its immune-supporting properties, frankincense also had psychological
and spiritual benefits.
Jacob and Gary in the foreground on horseback during the filming of The One Gift documentary in Egypt in 2010.
59

Beautiful white hojari resin from the
Boswellia sacra tree.
Gary’s first trip to Oman in 1995, standing
underneath a Boswellia sacra tree (Sacred
frankincense tree). Mary took this picture.
Gary was fascinated with the Frankincense Trail and wanted to see it, follow
it, and discover everything he could about it. That desire took him to Arabia,
the land of frankincense, where he made many trips to Oman and Yemen in his
quest for discovery and greater knowledge.
In 1995, he and Mary flew to Salalah, Oman, to see the new archeological
discovery of the ancient ruins of Ubar. This trip filled his mind with ideas about
frankincense and the possibility of distilling the resin himself.
Gary was thrilled to see the unearthing of the ancient city of Ubar, which was once the last place of civilization before
the caravans began the crossing of the great Arabian desert.
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Once, I took Gary to a distillery north of Seville, Spain. What an amazing
experience that was. The air was permeated with a beautiful, sacred aroma that filled
the soul with such an uplifting feeling. The owner of the distillery was very friendly
and invited us to participate in the distillation. Inside the extraction chamber, there
was a blender that continuously agitated the resin in a circular motion to prevent it
from turning into a hard, sticky piece of gum when it was heated.
The entrance to the frankincense distillery in Spain in 1995.
Gary took many pictures while Mary and I watched.
The agitation kept loosening the resin to release the oil, which slowly rose to
the top of the mixture. It was a very long process that took about 12 hours, so
there was a lot of time to talk and ask questions.
Gary was again taking pictures and measurements and making drawings
on his notepad to replicate the extraction chamber at home in anticipation of
producing his own frankincense, but there was a fascinating chain of events
about to take place that would change his thinking.
As for our long-planned and precise schedule in Spain, as was often the case
with Gary, our plans changed completely. Gary was blessed to have Kelly Case,
his personal assistant in the office, because she moved fast and knew how to
change airplane flights at a moment’s notice.
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I must say I was surprised because I did not expect to see the actual
frankincense distillation on a trip to Spain. Gary was not surprised, and as usual,
he went for it. Before everyone else, he knew what this oil could do in terms of
health and well-being.
Gary was unstoppable, absolutely relentless until he found a plant or a
solution to grow and/or distill that plant. His strength was simple because
he always placed his quest on a spiritual level. That is why it is difficult to
talk about Gary and our long friendship without talking about the spiritual
dimension of our relationship.
In 1990 when I met Gary, I was not into spirituality, even though I had a
certain fondness for my Catholic education. At the age of 20, encouraged by
my grandmother, I went on a retreat within the Catholic community of Roche
d’Or in Besancon. My spiritual awakening started then, but I was more focused
on my personal and professional obligations. I thought of myself as a superficial
Catholic, a man with material concerns.
Gary proclaimed his faith in God proudly. He knew how essential oils had
helped him and many others and was convinced it was his mission to take these
precious oils to the world. When he talked, he referred to God as his Father. He
also talked about messages—essential oil formulas—he received from his Father.
I was shocked at first and was concerned that Gary might be the sort of person
who used religion for personal or political motives. However, I quickly saw that
he was completely sincere and trustworthy. As our friendship grew, I found
myself wanting to know more of his philosophy and his relationship with God.
We truly connected on a deeper level that I had not experienced before in my
so-called religious upbringing.
The first time Gary brought a group of distributors to France, I was surprised
when he asked the group to stand up and hold hands in the restaurant while he
prayed. It was obvious that his words came from the heart, that he was talking to
God, and the prayer was in gratitude and for the well-being of others.
Gary had a gift for healing and could sense things before everyone else. One
day he told me that sugar would kill me. Although I did not believe him at the
time, my opinion has since changed. When he started his clinic in Ecuador
in 2000, he requested that people come to the clinic with a Bible, which he
referred to as his owner’s operator manual.
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Gary standing on the mountain top of Masada.
Gary always seemed to have a knowing that was inspired, and mystical. He
founded Young Living on Godly principals, and I never saw him deviate from
what he believed. He accepted everyone with their different beliefs and loved
people unconditionally.
At that time, I was interested in all forms of spirituality. I even joined small
meditation groups in Montbrun-les-Bains; but because I approached this
more as personal development than spirituality, I did not find it to my liking.
While doing research, I stumbled upon Christian meditation, which was a real
revelation for me. It was founded by a Benedictine monk in Canada who based
his teachings on the church’s first-century traditions.
It spoke to me. I learned how to meditate and let go of my anxieties, fears,
and panic attacks without trying to stop them. Meditation brought me true
well-being, better health, and a kind of peace I had never felt before.
When I made the spiritual discovery of Christian meditation, I told Gary,
but he could not picture himself meditating every day. He much preferred
to recharge his batteries by riding his horse in nature—the wilderness of the
mountains, which he called God’s living room. He said that was where he liked
to communicate with his Father and get direction for his life.
Gary took enormous risks, but that was who he was. For a time, between the
contemplative man I had become and the man of action that Gary was, we grew
in different directions. However, our friendship was stronger in spite of our
63

different ways of thinking, especially since we shared the same conviction that
there was something eternal, something bigger than biological life, and that we
would reunite after this life.
Being among the few to have known Gary in his early days, I want to pass
on his spiritual legacy. Those who join Young Living today might see only a
huge multinational company, but it is important to know how it all started.
Gary built Young Living on a spiritual foundation, and that mission moves the
company forward today.
Gary was never motivated to make money. He wanted to help his fellow man.
He often told me that he was given this mission by his Father and he would do
it with love and generosity. Faith encouraged him to seek and find exceptional
oils with spiritual virtues he touted, especially through biblical texts. He went
to Israel, Oman, and Egypt many times and did a lot of research in libraries and
was always seeking out religious locations like Masada and Ein Gedi.
Gary even created the Oils
of Ancient Scripture, a set
of 10 precious oils extracted
from plants, resins, and other
substances mentioned in the
Bible. It contains sandalwood,
cassia (Chinese cinnamon),
cypress, onycha (Styrax benzoin),
cistus (rose of Sharon), myrtle,
myrrh, frankincense, Lebanese
cedar, and hyssop, with a
corresponding Bible quote for
This collection of oils used anciently is treasured by many today.
each oil. Gary was proud to
show his faith, was not afraid
to go against popular thinking, and followed his intuition— telling me he was
spiritually guided.
From the start, Gary felt the absolute necessity to provide high-quality essential
oils, pure and complete, and was involved in all stages of production, from the
type and species of the plant to its production, harvest, distillation, and bottling.
Gary was a pure, enlightened man who shined his positive light on everyone.
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— V —
GARY’S PASSION FOR
DISTILLATION
When Gary visited me for the first time, it was winter, the time of the year
when only cypress is distilled. As he could not appreciate the French and
Provençal know-how in that context, he came back the next summer to see the
harvest and distillation of lavender. That was when he learned that we distilled
lavender for only 40 to 45 minutes, which was quite a surprise to him.
Gary had done tests at home and extensive research on the subject, and he was
convinced that lavender needed approximately one hour of distillation to produce
all the compounds for a complete chemical profile of the oil. I explained that it
was done for purely economic reasons and that the market was then limited to the
fragrance industry, but my answer was unsatisfactory to Gary.
At the time, this was acceptable reasoning. Lavender essential oil was in direct
competition with very inexpensive synthetic oil products. Perfumers, especially
the larger ones, did not care to know if the lavender was natural or synthetic.
What mattered to them was inexpensive raw materials.
Energy consumption is the most expensive part of distillation; but that is not
much of a problem in traditional distillation, which burns lavender straw to heat
the extraction chamber. With this traditional method, distillers did not have to
buy gas; they only had to pay people to keep the fire going under the distilling
chamber to produce steam.
To reduce the production costs, professionals stopped the extraction of the
essential oil at 95 percent in volume because the remaining 5 percent was more
expensive to produce than what it was worth. In addition to the cost issue, there
was also a time-related issue.
Once the lavender was cut, it needed to be distilled very quickly. The cut
lavender was loaded onto a trailer pulled by a tractor and taken immediately to
the distillery. During the distillation, it was more profitable for certain farmers
65

to abandon the final 20 percent of oil production, because that 20 percent
would have required an extra 15 to 20 minutes of distillation, and every minute
of distillation is quite costly in fuel. The tail end of distillation is when most of
the heavier molecules are extracted, which makes a complete essential oil. So
stopping before the distillation was complete diminished the quality of the final
oil. But again, the use of oils for aromatherapy was very limited at the time.
Gary understood the point of view of the distillers, but he was determined to
re-educate them and was prepared to put some money behind it. It took me a
lot of time to convince them that if they wanted Gary as a client, they would
have to produce a complete oil profile. I finally succeeded, and they agreed to a
one-hour distillation.
Distillation fascinated Gary so much that he spent most of his time
concentrating on this process. Equipped with a plastic soda bottle cut in
half, after 45 minutes, we would fill it with the floral water from the essencier
(essence, or oil receptacle) to check if there was any micro oil residue left in the
water after distilling. If only a little trickle remained, we would stop the process;
but Gary asked us to continue distilling until there was no oil left in the water.
We checked every five minutes until there was no more oil left.
Unloading lavender before distillation at the farm in France.
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At the time, it was believed that lavender
essential oil contained approximately 400 different
chemical constituents or compounds.
Those that are extracted first are the lighter
ones, the most volatile ones. To extract the
heavier ones, the lavender needs to be heated
longer or with higher temperatures.
We knew we had better results with
lower temperatures and lower pressure, so
we refused to heat at higher temperatures.
That meant that the only variable we could
play with was time. As soon as the flow
dried out, we knew that there was no more
oil to extract.
Today, distillers operate with gas,
which means they can keep a temperature perfectly constant; but when
the temperature had to be maintained manually under the large extraction
chambers, the extraction process was nearly impossible. Gary had been
advocating for a complete essential oil profile, meaning he wanted all the
compounds together in the oil for the simple reason that when the compounds
are separated or fractioned, they can be toxic.
Thyme is a perfect example of what could happen when using just a single
compound in the oil. If only the compound thymol is extracted, the compound
by itself can burn the skin. On the other hand, when the distillation of thyme
oil is complete, the thymol compound is not toxic and contains many beneficial
properties, according to several scientific studies.
Gary claimed over and over that an essential oil must be natural with its
complete chemical profile to be safe. His lifelong objective was to find out how to
constantly improve the distillation process and, therefore, the quality of the oils.
I remember introducing him to a distiller who was interested in esotericism,
which he explained as the spiritual knowledge of extracting oils. This man had
designed his distillation tanks according to what he called the golden ratio,
esotericism’s divine proportion.
Working together to hook up the
condenser to the distillation chamber.
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This gentleman insisted that the diameter and height of the extraction
chambers needed to be proportional to this ratio. That way the steam could be
released in a certain way and move circularly through the tank and the plants.
According to him, it was essential to respect the shape of the lid of the chamber,
which is the top of the extraction chamber connected to the swan neck through
which the steam flows smoothly upward.
Gary’s spiritual nature made him curious about this man’s work, and they
exchanged a lot of information. When they talked, there was little time left
for technical and scientific considerations because the conversation was mostly
esoteric or of a spiritual nature.
Gary analyzed and worked on this process night and day to confirm this man’s
theories. One time when Gary wanted to understand how steam circulated
within the tanks, he hopped inside with a flashlight and asked for the steam to
be released so he could feel and see how it moved. He was constantly modifying
the design of his chambers until they were exactly what he wanted.
While the government of France was working to improve the productivity of
distilleries and reduce labor costs, Gary went on an esoteric quest. We had different
viewpoints, but that was never a problem between us. I always understood and
accepted his spiritual approach—which I ended up embracing—and he always
understood and accepted my administrative, budgetary, and financial constraints.
Although we had a mutual understanding most of the time, our differences sometimes
gave rise to a heated discussion, which only made things more interesting.
When we decided to invest in modern distilleries and change our cylindrical
extraction chambers to square-corner containers, Gary had a difficult time
accepting the change, only agreeing after he was sure it would not affect
quality. There was, however, one compound that was slightly different, but we
determined that this was likely caused by the reduced time between harvesting
and distillation that was now possible, and not pre-wilting the plant material.
With today’s methods, when fresh plants are being distilled, their water
content can cause hydrolysis, so excess water needs to be drained off. At first, we
used the same volume of water as before; but the quality was impacted, so we
had to adapt the volume of steam to obtain the equivalent quality. We learned
how to change our working methods to avoid the hydrolysis issue. To date, we
have achieved better results without having to pre-wilt the harvested plants.
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— VI —
OBSESSED WITH QUALITY
When Gary first came to Provence, he visited producers and traders and was
surprised by the difference in quality between the two.
As mentioned before, aromatherapy was not very popular then, and most
of the production of essential oils was destined for the perfume industry. To
compete with the cheap synthetic lavender, many traders started to “sauce” the
essential oils. That meant they mixed natural products or essential oils with
synthetic essential oils or essential oil compounds to bring the costs down.
Gary was shocked and thought it was wrong. This practice removed all the
virtues of the essential oil and was potentially dangerous for the users. That was
when he realized the necessity of controlling the quality of the oils himself.
There were a few laboratories that
conducted basic tests, such as gas
chromatography, but that did not
prove that an essential oil was 100
percent natural. I was working with a
laboratory in Marseilles that conducted
tests on about 20 components, which
was a step in the right direction,
considering that most laboratories
tested only about 10 of them.
One day I took some pure lavender
to a Swiss gentleman for evaluation.
He was a pioneer in aromatherapy
who lived in Provence and distilled
wild plants. My family settled in
Provence at the same time he started
Laboratory analysis of two helichrysum oil samples
sent to Gary in 1998. Notice the different peaks in
the two samples. The top contains a full-spectrum of
compounds, while the bottom is lacking tremendously
due to either adulteration, poor distillation, or lowquality
plant material.
69

his own distillery. He convinced pickers to harvest wild plants for him while
starting organic productions. I brought him some lavender for a client in Japan,
and he provided a wonderful analysis of about 100 constituents.
More importantly, I learned about the work of Hervé Casabianca, a PhD
analytical chemist of essential oils and the director of a major French scientific
analysis laboratory, CNRS (the French National Center for Scientific Research).
Essential oil research and analysis was just developing, so Dr. Casabianca had a
huge responsibility.
Dr. Hervé Casabianca (left) in his laboratory in Lyon, France, working with another scientist.
When Gary told me about his need for quality control through precise
analyses, I knew that Dr. Casabianca was the answer we were looking for. So in
1992, I introduced Gary to Hervé. We met in a typical restaurant that had an
enormous chimney where the cook grilled the meat under Gary’s curious eyes.
Gary was a great cook and loved something new, which perhaps gave him some
ideas when he built his restaurant at the farm in Utah.
I must say, I felt a little nervous sitting between Gary and Hervé. I did not
know how the two of them would get along; but it went very well, and they had
a very worthwhile conversation. Their common denominator was their passion
for essential oils. Gary wanted to guarantee the quality of his oils, and Hervé
wanted to fight against frauds who would do anything for more money by
selling adulterated products. This brought them together and was the beginning
of a long-lasting friendship.
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By 1994, Dr. Casabianca had developed the technical expertise to differentiate
between a natural and synthetic molecule. Back then, there were two types of
fraud. The most common was to add synthetic compounds that were usually
petroleum-derived to extend the volume of the oil.
The more subtle type of fraud was to add a cheaper, natural essential oil to a
more expensive essential oil. Thyme is a perfect example because it can easily be
adulterated in this way. Even though synthetic thymol is very easy to make, there
is a plant that grows in South Asia and Sri Lanka called ajowan, and the essential
oil extracted from its seeds is very very high in thymol. By adding ajowan oil to
thyme oil, fraudsters are able to make very high margins, but the adulteration is
very difficult to detect because the adulterant is not synthetic.
An essential oil is considered pure and natural only if it comes entirely from the
distillation of any single plant species. In this case, although both elements are
natural, it cannot be considered pure and natural because it does not come 100
percent from thyme. It would be incorrect to think that a combination of thyme
and ajowan is harmless. The vibrations and frequencies are specific to each, and
the chemotypes of thymol and ajowan are different. The question is how can one
identify and differentiate between the two, especially if they have already been
combined?
When Hervé met Gary, Hervé had already become fully immersed in the
subject of chemical adulteration; and after considerable investment and
extensive research, he had found an advanced and costly technique called
nuclear magnetic resonance. Gary and I asked him to analyze our oils, which
he still does for Young Living as an outside third party, but Gary was already
thinking about starting his own laboratory.
Gary had no background in chemical analysis, but that was not a deterrent
for him, so he asked Hervé if he would teach and train him in the analysis of
essential oils. Gary not only wanted to have his own laboratory in house, but he
also wanted to be able to analyze the reports. That was a huge undertaking, but
once Gary had it in his mind, there was no stopping him.
Hervé trained Gary for three weeks, but that only whet Gary's appetite. Gary
wanted to go to school to study the chemical structure of molecular compounds
in the oils and be able to interpret the reports, but that type of education was
uncommon and not readily available.
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Aromatic Compound
Ajowan
(Trachyspermum ammi)
Essential Oil (Area %)
Thyme
(Thymus vulgaris)
tricyclene nd tr
alpha-thujene tr 1.2
alpha-pinene 0.5 1.3
alpha-fenchene tr nd
camphene tr 0.5
beta-pinene 1.4 0.2
myrcene 0.2 1.6
alpha-phellandrene tr 0.2
delta-3-carene tr 0.1
alpha-terpinene 0.2 1.3
para-cymene 19.8 20.9
beta-phellandrene 0.1 0.3
limonene 0.3 0.5
gamma-terpinene 32.7 8.8
trans-sabinene hydrate nd 0.3
para-cymenene tr nd
terpinolene 0.1 0.1
linalool nd 3.7
borneol nd 1.0
terpinen-4-ol 0.2 0.8
alpha-terpineol 0.1 0.2
cumic aldehyde 0.1 nd
carvacrol methyl ether nd 0.3
thymol 43.2 50.3
carvacrol 0.8 4.2
beta-caryophyllene nd 1.1
aromadendrene nd 0.1
alpha-humulene nd tr
ledene nd 0.1
delta-cadinene nd 0.1
caryophyllene oxide nd 0.1
Total 0.998 0.993
Comparing ajowan and thyme, one can see how easy it would be to adulterate a pure thyme oil with a completely
different oil, and the unassuming buyer wouldn’t know the difference.
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Gary learned about Dr. Hans
Baser, who was teaching a course
on gas chromatography (GC)
analysis at Anadolu University
in Eskişehir, Turkey. This was
exactly what Gary wanted, so
he contacted Dr. Baser and was
accepted as a student in 1996.
Gary completed 120 hours of
intense study and returned home
ready to start his own lab.
Gary remained in close contact Gary and Dr. Hans Baser at the International Symposium on
Essential Oils in Eskişehir, Turkey.
with Hervé who continued to
advise him, and when Gary was ready, Hervé flew to Utah to set up and
calibrate the GC to the French standard. That single instrument was the
beginning of what has grown into a huge laboratory of testing instruments for
Young Living, with many highly qualified scientists who are there to protect the
quality of Young Living oils.
Gary was very excited and retuned to France to study with Dr. Casabianca,
who was always very willing to teach and share the techniques he developed over
years of research.
Dr. Herve Casabianca went to Payson, Utah, to calibrate Young Living’s first GC instrument.
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Dr. Casabianca, in his lab in France, reviews test results with Gary.
Once back in the United States, Gary invested heavily in being able to test
the oils, even though the idea of essential oils producing a lot of money was
only beginning to catch on in the commercial world. But money did not drive
Gary. It was the purity of the oils and the purpose of his mission that drove him,
and guaranteeing purity was becoming more and more important against the
growing amount of adulteration.
Gary was clearly a pioneer in setting up quality controls for distilling essential
oils for therapeutic uses. Hervé visited Gary’s laboratory in the Utah several times
and even spoke at the Young Living convention.
Gary recognized the importance of being able to test the oils as they
were being extracted through the distillation process, so he began to set up
laboratories at his different farms. Ecuador is one of Young Living’s biggest
farms, so Gary invited Hervé to come to Ecuador to calibrate the GC
instrument and spend time training while he was there.
Among the few aromatherapy companies starting then, Young Living was the
only one investing massively in the quality control of essential oils, which again
demonstrates that Gary’s primary motivation was never to make money but to
help others heal like he did.
In fact, Gary never intended to create a multimillion-dollar company. He was
simply convinced that essential oils would play a fundamental role in well-being
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Gary working in Young Living’s laboratory in Payson, Utah, which was the beginning of what would become a
multimillion-dollar analytical facility.
and that there would be a need for quality products, as it was difficult to find
pure essential oils.
Gary’s obsession for quality was unwavering. Whenever he doubted the
quality of an essential oil he received, he would contact me to see how quickly
I could get the oil to Hervé at CNRS to analyze it. He sent the sample the next
day by courier, so when I received it, I drove to Lyon to meet Hervé, who was
unfortunately on vacation. In addition to that, the instrument I wanted to use
needed to be specifically calibrated, which was going to take two weeks.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Gary was very frustrated and even offered to
buy Hervé an instrument so he could test the quality of his oil, which stunned
Hervé. We all knew such an instrument could not be manufactured nor be set
up within two days, so Gary’s offer made no sense; but Gary’s commitment was
impressive.
Gary and Hervé had a wonderful relationship. Hervé was a Doctor of Science,
as well as a French civil servant who was very knowledgeable in his field, well
organized, and hardworking. He had a well-equipped laboratory and a very
competent team. Gary was self-taught, had no means, and had a small business
that was just starting; but he was very committed—the very image of freedom:
the American cowboy on his horse.
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Continuous analysis of the oils takes place in the St. Maries laboratory during the distillation process to ensure the
highest quality.
In terms of personalities, they had little in common; and professionally, they
came from totally different worlds. Hervé had a guaranteed position employed
by the government, while Gary was a self-made man who was prone to taking
risks to further his cause. When I introduced them to each another, I doubted
the relationship would work, and yet it did and was fantastic. They had one big
thing in common: They loathed cheaters and thieves.
Gary knew that adulterated oils would not help anyone and that he risked
hurting people by unknowingly using oils that were not complete. He wanted to
be certain that what he was being offered was 100 percent pure and natural, and
Hervé shared the same feeling. They got along like good friends and significantly
improved the quality-testing process for essential oils.
Today, Gary has built in Utah one of the most advanced laboratories in the
world. All his farms, apart from the one in France that uses a small independent
laboratory located next to its lavender fields, are equipped with a laboratory
capable of testing the composition and purity of the oils produced, regardless of
the time of the harvest. I’m sure that a laboratory will be built in the near future
for the French farm.
Gary’s stubbornness and his convictions silenced all those who mocked,
criticized, and attacked him in his early days. Above all, he secured Young Living’s
market by guaranteeing the quality of its oils, as well as all of its other products.
76

— VII —
ENCOUNTERS OF DESTINY
We often talk about fate, but I wonder whether it is the people we meet who
guide us along the way. Thanks to my grandmother, I discovered my love for
lavender. After her unknowing first push, there were many who kept me going
down this path, and I introduced Gary to many of those people.
The people who taught me about lavender became Gary’s tutors too. As
he always shared the progress of his research with the producers and me, I
introduced him to all the people who could help him with his mission to
develop and popularize the use of essential oils for well-being.
Marcel Espieu was the first person to put me back on the lavender track. We
met in 1989 when I moved to the village of Vers-sur-Méouge with my wife and
daughter. As new neighbors, he and his wife, Marthe, helped us get settled.
Marcel was a rather small, sturdy, blunt, and nervous man who must have been
in his 50s at the time. He worked as an independent distiller in Séderon and
taught me a lot about distillation. He was clearly an expert.
Marcel’s father and grandfather were also distillers, so he had been taught the
know-how and secrets of extracting the best essential oils possible. I quickly
decided that I wanted to take over his business when he was ready. He had
a disabled son who did not want to continue the work and a daughter who
worked as a doctor out of the region.
In 1990, we joined forces with the firm intention of developing the sale of
essential oils for therapeutic use, particularly for export. At this time, essential
oils were used mostly in the perfume industry. Together, we decided to develop
the American market and aromatherapy. It was also through Marcel that I later
met Henri Viaud.
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Henri was a tall, rather intellectual man who was about 20 years older than
Marcel. He was originally a university professor who had fallen in love with the
Séderon region, where he had bought a stretch of the Lure Mountain in the
Jabron Valley. The small village was in ruins, but it had an abandoned distillery
in the middle of wild lavender and thyme fields.
Henri was passionate about essential oils and enthusiastically renovated the
distillery, as well as a few buildings in the village, where he lived. He started
picking wild plants and distilling them, especially one type of lavender that was
famous for its very high quality.
Henri was one of the first to take interest in the
benefits of floral water, also called herbal distillate.
He worked with a pharmacist and researched its
therapeutic effects. He even wrote a small book on
the subject: Huiles Essentielles, Hydrolats, Distillation,
Qualité, Contrôle de la Pureté, Indications Majeures
(Essential Oils, Herbal Distillates, Distillation, Quality,
Monitoring Purity, Important Information).
Farmers brought wild plants down from the
mountains for Henri to distill, which developed his
business to such a degree that he needed to find another supply source to
meet the growing demand. He contacted Marcel Espieu, who lived close by and
produced quality oils.
Henri had an interesting approach to distillation because he liked to
experiment a lot. For example, he tried to distill mushrooms. He collected the
mushrooms that were unfit to be sold for consumption from the wholesale
market in Cavaillon, distilled them, and sold the distillate to the Japanese, who
claimed it had very powerful health benefits.
Henri made a living from the business and sold his products—particularly his
exotic oils—at a high price, but only through retail and direct catalog mailing;
but that was not sufficient to keep him financially afloat.
Henri was an eccentric man who had no business sense at all. Fortunately for
him, he had assets, particularly a collection of valuable paintings. When he ran
out of money, he sold a painting and was able to carry on his activities.
78

Henri gathered an impressive collection of essential oils, and his knowledge
was extraordinarily precise, being able to talk about chemotypes, origins, etc.
However, his rates for bulk selling were prohibitive. In those years, the market
was very limited; and in that context, one had to make large margins to survive.
Therefore, I started looking for new suppliers. Through a friend who was
responsible for purchasing in a cooperative, I met an essential oil importer
from the Franche-Comté region well-known for its cheese. We had a good
relationship, and he remained my main supplier for exotic oils produced abroad.
I put this supplier in contact with Gary, who ordered oils through him
directly. Thanks to Young Living becoming one of his main clients, the
merchant developed and invested in an analytical laboratory. In the meantime,
I was fortunate enough to meet Jean Valnet, the “Pope of aromatherapy,” the
foremost authority on essential oils.
In 1990, when I was managing the small shop that carried local organic
products in Séderon, I also sold Marcel’s essential oils. I sold lavender, clary
sage, cypress, thyme, and oregano in quantities that were small but enough
to sustain my range of products from Provence. I also sold Jean Valnet’s book
Aromathérapie (Aromatherapy).
One day in one of the small holistic newspapers, I saw an ad for a conference
on aromatherapy, with Jean Valnet as honorary president. The conference was
close to my home, south of Lyon, so I decided to go. I took a vial of lavender
essential oil with me that I planned to give to Jean Valnet. At the time, the label
read: “Jean-Noël Landel—Lavender essential oil.”
There were a lot of people attending the conference, including doctors and
naturopaths. Jean Valnet seemed tired and was having difficulty walking, but he
responded to every request. When we stopped for a lunch break, many of us stood
up to talk to him. I got in line and after 30 minutes, I was finally facing him.
“Hello, doctor,” I said. “It is an honor to meet you. I am a distiller. Please
allow me to give you this vial of lavender, distilled where I live.”
Jean Valnet stood up and said, “Your name is Landel?” He must have read my
name on the bottle. He had a strong accent, the same as my paternal family in
Franche-Comté. He continued, “I’m used to seeing that name on cancoillotte pots.”
It so happens that my grandfather created the first dairy manufacturing of
cancoillotte, a fermented cheese with very low fat content. That is why the main
79

Labels for different dairy products produced by the Landel company. The label
on the left is for cheese made with butter, and the label on the right is for pasteurized butter.
cancoillotte sold in Franche-Comté was the Landel cancoillotte. Jean Valnet
obviously knew the brand, as he was from that region. He told me he knew my
grandfather and that he delivered the milk by horse that his family produced
when he was 14 years old.
People were still lining up to talk to Jean Valnet when he suddenly announced
that the autograph session was over. He grabbed me by the shoulders and took
me to lunch. While he was still expected to talk about his life, background, and
approach to aromatherapy, he was completely uninterested in the other guests
and started telling me about our region over a nice glass of wine.
People started to wonder what was happening and who I was to be able to
monopolize Jean Valnet’s attention like that. He did not care and talked only
with me about my grandfather, the family, and the region we are from. We left
under the furious glances of those who had paid to listen to him. He hadn’t
spoken to them, and there I was without ever properly introducing myself.
Later Jean Valnet wrote to me and mentioned his regret for not keeping his
commitments but offered to meet me in Besançon (the capital of Franche-
Comté) so he could make one last visit to the region. And what a visit it was. He
tired me out with his energy, and during that trip, an innovative idea blossomed
in my mind.
Aromatherapy was not as widespread as it is today. Only doctors could give
medical advice, and I was not allowed to say anything about what I knew.
However, there were no regulations regarding the atmospheric diffusion of
essential oils. In the book Aromathérapie, Jean Valnet wrote a paragraph about
the benefits of diffusion.
80

He precisely described an experiment carried out with animals in a
veterinarian school where he diffused essential oils in the stables and carried out
tests before the diffusion, as well as 15 minutes and one hour later. He proved
that essential oils destroy air pollutants.
In Jean Valnet’s book it reads, “Pr. Griffon, Director of the Toxicology
Laboratory of the Police Prefecture, member of the Pharmacy Academy and
the High Council of Hygiene, studied the cleansing properties of a blend
of aromatic essences, including the essences of pine, thyme, mint, lavender,
rosemary, clove, and cinnamon, for the purification of air.” His report, dated
January 7, 1963, specified that the research was done in collaboration with the
Sanitary Veterinary Services of Paris.
Today, there are many studies and information that can be found online for
anyone interested in this type of research.
Jean Valnet is the originator of phyto-aromatherapy. The Practice of Aromatherapy was originally published in 1980
in French under the title Aromathérapie and later translated into English in 1982. Jean Valnet is well regarded for his
contribution to natural healing and is known around the world through his many books that have been translated
into several languages.
81

Based on Jean Valnet’s research, I came up with the idea for a small diffuser
that spread lavender essential oil in the atmosphere to purify the air. Thanks to
his encouragement, I finished the Diffuseur Nicolas on time to be awarded the
1991 Best Invention trophy during the Inventors’ Fair in Marseille.
Gary often asked me to introduce him to Jean Valnet, but the timing did
not work out and, unfortunately, Jean Valnet passed away several years later.
However, we are fortunate that Dr. Valnet wrote several books containing his
findings which, at the time, was nearly everything known about essential oils.
For anyone interested in the history of essential oils, his books are priceless.
As Jean Valnet was the first to write about the benefits of lavender, you will
find his books interesting and educational. The benefits of lavender oil are listed
in his book Aromathérapie. In the 10th edition, a practical paperback format,
edited by Maloine S.A., Valnet offers detailed information about growing and
distillation lavender and the compounds that determine its many benefits. Here
are a few paragraphs to pique your curiosity:
“Lavandula officinalis Lamiaceae (family name) is a very precious plant,
widespread in the south of France, Italy, and Dalmatia, where it thrives at
an elevation of 2,300 to 4,600 feet, the French variety—the oldest known
—being the most appreciated, lavender has several wonderful properties.
The parts that are used are the flowers from which the essential oil is
obtained through steam distillation of the plant. The French production
of lavender oil was about 165 to 330,000 pounds per year.
Main components or chemical compounds that are known of the
essence are: linalyl and geranyl ethers, about 35 to 55 percent linalyl
acetate, geraniol, linalool, cineole, d-borneol, limonene, l-pinene,
caryophyllene, butyric and valerian ethers, and coumarin. Its uses are
many such as: calming, tonic, feeling of euphoria, etc.”
Jean Valnet provided instructions for lavender’s internal and external use as an
infusion, and with other extraction methods used especially for water-soluble
constituents. Plant material is boiled for a specific time in an open-type extractor
that contains a specified volume of water from various tinctures, salves, etc., are
made.
82

— VIII —
GARY’S FRENCH FAMILY
Gary with Marcel and other local French distillers, whom Gary considered part of his French family: Jean-Marie's
father, Maurice Blanc; Marcel Espieu; Paul Lauvergnat, from whom we bought the farm in France; and Gary in front.
Although Marcel Espieu remained one of Gary’s mentors, Gary also built a
close circle of friends who were enthusiastic about lavender and other essential
oils. Gary referred to this group of farmers and distillers as his “French family.”
When Gary visited, he always said, “It feels good to be home.” Naturally, he
loved his own country, but he was very attached to France and said that he owed
all he had learned about the traditional art of distillation to his French family,
the roots of his business.
During each visit, we all got together, the Cassan family, Jean-Marie Blanc,
Jérôme Raynard, and I, to enjoy a meal while talking all evening. Gary spent a
lot of time with the producers and was never happier than when on a tractor or
repairing an engine.
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Clockwise around the table: Dan (Jane’s sister’s husband), Gerard (my brother), Marthe, Marcel, Mary, Gary, and I
enjoying dinner in France.
Alain Cassan joined the story when Young Living started to need larger
volumes, and Marcel Espieu introduced him to me. When Alain left the biggest
cooperative in France, which he created and developed, his son, Benoît, decided
to work with us and started looking for producers to provide us with the
quantities we needed.
From the start, what struck me about Alain, and what Gary appreciated when
he met him, was the respect he showed me. When most producers did not take
me seriously because of my convictions and did not believe in the economic
It was always wonderful to be together. I’m standing in the middle with Jean-Marie and Benoît to the left and Gary
and Nicolas to the right.
84

Jean-Marie, Benoît, and I always had some laughter at the distillery in Simiane. This picture is from before it
was renovated.
opportunities of aromatherapy, Alain treated me as a true partner and respected
my point of view regarding the quantities, as well as the quality, I requested.
Not only did Alain and Benoît show me great respect, they also supported my
adventure. It was a genuine partnership with the Cassan family. Thanks to them
and the French producers, there was never a disruption in the supply, even when
the demand increased significantly. The Cassans’ work with local producers
proved to be fundamental to meet Young Living’s demands. We never needed to
sign anything; no agreements because trust was at the heart of our relationships.
When Alain retired, Benoît took the torch with the same heartfelt sentiments.
He and Gary had a great relationship, spending much of their time engrossed in
conversation. Benoît saw Gary and me as brothers-in-arms, united by love and
understanding, and that was enough to earn his absolute trust.
Benoît also saw how Gary made time for distributors who came to visit.
He admired Gary’s faith, patience, and deep respect he showed everyone. He
only truly grasped the size and operation of Young Living when I took him
to Salt Lake City for the Young Living convention. Several thousand people
were attending, and every time we walked down the streets, we would run into
someone who was part of the company. This left a deep impression on Benoît
and helped him realize the immensity of the company Gary had created.
The relationship with Jean-Marie Blanc was similar, even though it nearly
came to a sudden end. Our first encounter with him took place just after we
purchased the farm in Simiane-la-Rotonde.
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Jean-Marie was in charge of the land,
and as neither of us knew him, one
morning we decided to go see him. He
was on his tractor, driving a roller next
to the freshly planted lavender starts.
When we walked up and introduced
ourselves, Jean-Marie jokingly said, “So
you’ve come to spy on me?” I translated
the sentence for Gary, who took it at
face value and was offended.
Disturbed by what had just happened,
I did not know how to react. I quickly
realized Jean-Marie was joking and
explained why he was pulling a roller
down the rows. “This tightens the soil
around the roots so diseases can be
avoided,” speaking very seriously this time. That evening, I had a very hard time
convincing Gary that Jean-Marie was only kidding.
After this misunderstanding, they began to talk and build a good working
relationship. They drove the tractor together and worked on the machines
together. They did not speak the same language, but they managed to
understand each other. They talked with their hands and sometimes used paper
and pen. Gary often invited Jean-Marie to his farms as a technical advisor,
particularly for the ancient einkorn grain about which Jean-Marie knew all the
secrets of growing and harvesting.
Seeing Jean-Marie, a farmer who had never left home, fly for the first time was
an interesting sight. He was simultaneously nervous and excited. When Gary
needed help with einkorn in Utah, he would call and ask me to get Jean-Marie
on the next flight.
When we first met Jean-Marie, he was considering stopping his business
because lavandin production was not profitable. He was not making a living
with it, so he had to compensate with other income-generating activities, and he
was simply exhausted. We convinced him to continue and start growing einkorn
again. He perceived the strong, authentic, and simple relationship we shared,
Jean-Marie and Gary planting lavender on the Simiane
farm the year the farm was purchased.
86

with Gary as the practical
go-getter and me as the
temperate implementer.
For Jean-Marie, Gary was the
“man with a thousand ideas”
and Jean-Marie could help
put Gary's ideas into action.
When Gary asked Jean-Marie to
build an American-style ranch
entrance with posts, he did it.
To surprise Gary, he cut old
posts during the night and put
them in place before morning.
Conversely, when Jean-Marie
mentioned his desire to make a
small water catchment basin for
the spring located on his land,
Gary gave him the money to
do it. Sometimes they would
disappear for hours, and we
never really knew where they
were or what they were doing.
Gary’s French family would not be complete without Jérôme Reynard
who was small in stature but very sturdy with a strong personality who
Gary nicknamed “Blondy” because of his blond hair. The three of us had an
immediate chemistry because we were quick to act, innovate, and create. Gary
and Jérôme shared a passion for old tractors and farm machinery and spent
hours talking about einkorn and how to improve the harvest.
There was a strong trust between Gary and me, which always prevailed as we
worked together. Gary was a deep-thinking and very sincere man who believed
in the qualities of the heart, and he knew he could count on me and that I
would be loyal. He appreciated this quality in me and in all the people to
whom I introduced him. That was so important to him, and he was always
grateful to me for it.
There was a lot of laughter when Gary and Jean-Marie worked
together. Here they are planting lavender in 2002.
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Jean-Marie built the American-style entrance just as Gary described.
88

— IX —
A COMPLEMENTARY MATCH
It would be difficult to tell you about my friendship with Gary without
mentioning a few stories illustrating how different yet complementary we
were. With Gary, the constantly moving visionary, and me, thoughtful and
contemplative, the chemistry worked because we were on the same wavelength
and shared the same passion for essential oils. We understood, supported, and
helped each other. Gary amazed me; he was unpredictable but always loyal.
In the early 2000s when he asked me to drop all my clients to work only for
him, everyone told me it was crazy to accept and that I was clearly taking an enormous
risk. I remember having hesitated for a long time, but I have never regretted
it. Gary was a man of his word. Like me, he never needed to sign a contract to
honor his promises. We had absolute and reciprocal trust, which was probably the
key to our long adventure together. I showed him that the competitive world in
which we were playing contained people as passionate as we were.
Life taught Gary to be cautious and distrustful, but when I introduced him to
someone, he trusted me completely and accepted them wholeheartedly. He always
considered me his partner, the only one he ever had, and he always had my back.
On one occasion, we were at the airport in Seville, Spain, waiting to check our
bags. I left for a moment, and when I came back, an Andalusian man lashed out at
me, thinking I was cutting in line. It did not take much for Gary to stand up for
me, as he always did. Gary and the man, face to face, nose to nose, hat brim to hat
brim—what a scene. You can imagine who backed down, and it wasn’t Gary.
Thanks to his unique personality and charisma, Gary formed close ties with
everyone he met, including producers, distillers, and equipment manufacturers
who had never met anyone like him. He was straightforward, open-minded,
and never kept anything to himself and loved to share with anyone who was
interested in the results of his research.
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Competition was not a threat to Gary, as he was convinced his mission was to
help others. Any time he found something new, he called me. I remember one
time when he called me in the middle of night, without one thought about what
time it might be, to tell me he had found how to separate lemon balm essential
oil from its herbal distillate.
I stood by his side, listened to his requests, and tried to meet them—and some
of them were very challenging. Gary thought the world went at his pace. I got
upset on many occasions when, depending on his latest idea, he changed the
plans I had made following his instructions. On a few rare occasions, I objected
and forced him to make up his mind; but mostly, I gave in.
One day while we were on our way to Toulouse, Gary saw a sign for
Carcassonne, and could not resist visiting the medieval city. Once again, I had
to change our schedule, postpone our meetings, and stay overnight in a hotel.
Gary was passionate about the Middle Ages and medieval castles. So much
so that every time he came to France, we had to drive to Sisteron, a city he and
Mary loved. So when Alain Cassan suggested that Gary set up a shop in the
13th-century castle of Simiane, there was no hesitation—and it was up to me to
manage the details.
During the first years of our collaboration, Gary had more free time to meet
producers, distillers, and anyone who could add to his knowledge. We had a
very personal and intense relationship. We called each other all the time. As the
Members at the castle in Simiane celebrate the 20th anniversary of Young Living’s beginning in France.
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company grew bigger, the demand on Gary became tremendous, and he was
flying all over the world.
We didn’t have as much time for each other, which I regret. I missed our
collaboration, both personal and professional. On many occasions, he talked
about how he missed his family or didn’t have enough time to help all the
people who came to him.
We built our friendship during his visits to Provence but also during my visits
to the United States. I remember my first visit very well. Gary and Mary had just
bought a house in Utah, where Mary still lives today. It’s a very large house built
up against the mountain, rather isolated, with several acres fenced off for the
horses and with deer wandering everywhere, eating apples fallen from the trees.
They have a large indoor pool connected to the house, and Gary also built a
weight room out in the barn. The living room has a grand piano, and there is
enough room to seat 75 to 100 people. In the United States, unlike in France,
you can deduct part of your home's cost from your business income as long as
you can prove that it is used to host people in a professional capacity, which is
precisely what Gary did.
Gary and Mary hosted many Young Living events at their home, and Gary
loved it—perhaps because growing up in the mountains, he had never had a
nice home where he could invite people to visit. He was the life of the party and
was thrilled to have the opportunity. The house was so big that our son got lost
Switching roles with Nicolas.
Véréna and Nicolas.
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The massive construction of multiple cookers in the distillery at the Mona farm was the beginning of great expansion
for Young Living’s production of essential oils.
I translated for Marcel while
he addressed the members
at the farm during the
2002 convention.
Gary insisted that I speak at
convention in 1997 even though
I was resistant to being in front
of so many people.
once, which brought a lot of laughter. As a Frenchman accustomed to European
dimensions, that was amazing to me.
It was late one winter day when Gary picked me up from the Salt Lake airport.
By the time we arrived at their house, it was dark with knee-high snow everywhere.
Mary had received a call for help from one of the neighbors who told her the
dog had been attacked by coyotes. Gary put his boots on, took his rifle, and told
me to come with him. Dressed in warm clothes and boots, we headed out with a
flashlight to try to find the coyotes. I had never been coyote hunting before, and it
felt like a Western movie. Gary did not kill any coyotes that day, but he did scare
them off with a couple of shots.
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By the late 1990s, early 2000s, Gary’s business really started to expand. I
entered a whole new world where everything seemed disproportionate compared
to France. In 1995, Gary purchased the farm in Mona, which had been a cattle
ranch. The land had never been developed and was basically an uncultivated
tumbleweed desert.
Gary built greenhouses, planted starts, and when the starts were ready,
transplanted them into the freshly prepared fields. He expanded the distillery,
built an office, mechanic and fabrication shops, barns, and stables. He renovated
the old, dilapidated farmhouse into a visitor center. It was so very different and
stunning with all the work he did, and I really liked the old Western town and
the petting zoo. The transformation was truly inspiring.
I was amazed how he was building the extraction chambers, or cookers, in his
own fabrication shop because such things could not be purchased in the United
States. Once again, Gary was the pioneer. He drew the engineering plans from
the sketches he made in Provence and hired welders and metal workers and
whomever else he needed to help him build everything.
All his life, Gary conducted research through trial and error to improve productivity,
particularly regarding what is called a cooler or condenser. He studied the
directional movement and speed of steam to design and build the equipment to
optimize its cooling. Our condensers were vertical, but he decided to place them
at an angle. He realized that the movement of the steam inside the tanks was very
important to avoid too much pressure, which could damage the oils.
He created a new, precise shape for the swan neck and lid with a gentle
angle by getting in the tank and studying the movement of steam himself.
Naturally, he wasn’t in the cooker very long, but he saw what he needed to see
to make his design.
Gary never did things halfway. He studied and analyzed everything with great
precision and went to the absolute limits of his experiments, always looking
to improve something that made a difference and made it better. It was so
impressive that he shared his discoveries without ever being worried about his
inventions being stolen or copied.
Once the distillery was ready for operation, Gary decided to have a big
celebration during the convention when all the distributors were there. This was
the convention of 2002, and generous as always, Gary invited me, all expenses
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Many of Gary’s architectural drawing can be seen in the museum at Young Living’s headquarters in Lehi, Utah.
Gary was so happy to explain to Marcel and Marthe about the development of the Mona farm in the greenhouse
and the distillery.
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It was a great day for Gary to be able to share his accomplishments with Marcel.
paid, along with Marcel and Marthe Espieu to come and see what he had built
and to be a part of all the excitement. Gary talked so much about Marcel that he
wanted his distributors to meet him.
During the early years when Gary came to France to learn how to distill
essential oils, he often talked about how, one day, he was going to build a
distillery at his farm. All his French friends laughed and joked with him about
how the Americans were always trying to copy what the French did. That may
have pushed Gary even more, because if someone made fun of him or told him
he couldn’t do it, he was determined to show them the opposite.
On the day of the convention when everyone was at the farm, there were five
extraction chambers, or cookers, ready to go, and Gary planned to build 10 to
12 more. Everyone was gathered at the distillery and Gary, Marcel, and I were
standing on an elevated platform addressing the crowd. Gary introduced Marcel
and then handed him the mic. When Marcel, who taught Gary everything, told
the audience that the student had become the teacher, I could see tears well up
in Gary’s eyes and he became so emotional he couldn’t speak. What a glorious
moment that was for Gary, and I could only agree with Marcel.
When I watched Gary, I would have said that he was born with tools in his
hands, ready for whatever opportunity came along. He could watch a piece
of equipment work one time and be able to reproduce it. He understood the
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Gary was always inventing new ways of making work more efficient. Whether it was fabricating or “mechanicing,”
he could do it all.
mechanics very quickly, and he could operate any piece of equipment without
anyone showing him how it worked.
Gary told me about his life growing up and how his family didn’t have any
money to buy farm equipment. He said people felt sorry for his father and
would give him their old junk. His dad would figure it out, build parts, put
it together, and make it work. That is how Gary grew up: figuring it out and
making something out of what seemed like nothing—maybe impossible, but
that was survival on the ranch.
Gary was an excellent mechanic, passionate about farm equipment, and I found
myself laughing as he told me about going to Grand Junction, Colorado, every
year to the biggest used farm equipment auction in the Midwest. Gary bought
pickup trucks, dump trucks, trailers, forklifts, irrigation pipe, cultivators, and even
semitrucks and trailers to use on the farm. He even bought an old motorhome for
$200 for the farm workers to live in temporarily. He knew how to stretch a dollar,
especially when he didn’t have a lot, and he didn’t believe in accruing debt.
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Every March, Gary went to the auction in Grand Junction, Colorado, where he bought most of his farm equipment for
the first 10 years of building the farms.
Ponds that Gary dug out to capture rain and snowmelt for irrigation in St. Maries.
When Gary visited me, he wanted to see the latest equipment. He studied
how it operated, asked questions, and took a lot of notes. The first piece of
equipment I shipped to him was an old lavender harvester. I wondered if it
was even worthwhile for him to buy, but he adapted it to cut and harvest his
lavender. However, he soon started building the equipment himself with his
own innovations that made it better. Today, that first harvester I shipped is like a
museum piece and sits at the Mona farm for everyone to see.
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The second planter Gary designed was built in Mona in 1998 and was a fiveseater, making it much faster than the first
one he build in St. Maries.
Gary designed and built a machine to plant the lavender starts, but he
designed it the American way: very wide with five rows instead of three. Having
noticed the time lost between the moment when the plant was picked up and
the moment it was placed in the right spot, Gary made improvements to the
machine to save more time.
This was typical of Gary: a builder, innovator, leader, and inventor. His
farm was not only a farm; it was also a real equipment-production facility. He
bought metal in bulk from steel manufacturers that he cut, welded, and shaped
by himself at first; then he hired a small team of specialized metal workers to
help him. He made huge cookers of various sizes for all three farms in North
America and one in Canada and often trucked them himself. He was a fabulous
semitruck driver. Gary was amazing. I often wondered what he couldn’t do.
Before Gary, there was no known lavender production in the United
States. After his first lavender harvest in 1991, he began to develop his idea
of controlling the growing and distillation process from beginning to end in
order to guarantee quality, which later became known as Seed to Seal. Members
volunteered to work at the farm to understand the process. The farms were
immaculate, and there was never any trash on the ground. Gary dug out ponds
to hold rainwater and snowmelt to supply the distillery and the irrigation needs.
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In 2012, I visited St. Maries and Highland Flats with Jean-Marie and Benoît to participate in the winter harvest. This
was the first time Jean-Marie and Benoît had traveled to the United States, and they still talk a lot about it.
Young Living distributors helping Gary harvest and distill lavender at the St. Maries farm in August 2006.
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Gary digging out the reservoir in Ecuador
The rains immediately started filling the reservoir after the dam
was completed.
The reservoir in Ecuador provides the water to irrigate this beautiful farm.
At his farm in Ecuador, Gary dug out the huge reservoir, which was filled with
the monsoon rains. It was so big that he bought water skis and jet boats for the
employees and visitors. He even built a restaurant on stilts that sits out over the
water and makes the restaurant look like it’s floating when the water is high
after the heavy monsoon rains.
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Jane and I had our first convention
experience in 1998.
The Landel family enjoying lunch at the farm during convention.
The friendship Gary and I shared lasted a lifetime. I was
astounded when Gary presented me with the Spirit of
Young Living award.
Showing off the beautiful blownglass plate. It was
exciting that Hervé, smiling in the background, was able
to be on stage with us.
Gary often invited me and Jane to speak on stage, and even though neither of
us liked the idea, we loved talking about our adventures with Gary, and today it
is truly a heartwarming memory.
The Young Living conventions became bigger and bigger every year. Gary
often invited me to speak about lavender and our French farm. I really enjoyed
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eing there and getting to know so many of the distributors. They really loved
Gary and the essential oils and blends he was providing.
Conventions were exciting with so many people, and we made so many
friends. Gary made us feel like royalty, especially when he presented me with the
Spirit of Young Living award in 2014. I felt like it was a beautiful tribute to my
entire family.
All of these moments we shared strengthened our friendship. I will never
forget the trips to his home. Each time, he picked me up and drove me around
in his big one-ton dually Dodge truck. The truck seemed so wide and was not a
truck I would like to drive, but Gary loved it and was at home behind the wheel.
On the trip back to the airport, I was afraid I would miss my plane, as we
usually left at the last minute, and there was always something unexpected. Talk
about stressful. One time as we were heading to the airport, I was sitting in the
front seat with Gary in his big truck full of hay bales in the back for his animals.
While speeding down the freeway, we noticed that some hay bales had fallen
out, but since we were already late, Gary didn’t want to stop. The bales were
partially spread on the road, so he was certain that the rest would just get run
over and blown away by the wind. I never did know the outcome.
In recent years to avoid any anxiety, I rented a car at the airport and told Gary
of my arrival time only once I was en route to his house.
I have many tales like this that prove how close and connected we were in the
quest for quality and sharing. These stories also help us understand how Young
Living became the leading company it is today in the field of essential oils and
why Provençal lavender still holds a unique place in aromatherapy.
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— X —
THE LAVENDER
HEART OF PROVENCE
Lavender made an impact on humanity long before Gary and I took any
interest in it. The word itself seems to have been coined in the Middle Ages. T
he Romans used the plant to perfume their baths and wash their linens.
Classified as a “precious plant,” it was also cited in a variety of health and
perfumery applications.
In the book Histoire des Plantes qui Naissent aux Environs d’Aix et dans
Plusieurs Autres Endroits de la Provence (History of Plants that Grow Around
Aix en Provence and in Other Places in Provence) written in 1715, Dr. Garidel
mentioned the use of lavender essence distilled by Provençal farmers for various
uses with animals. It is always fascinating for me to learn about how lavender
was used historically.
This historical photograph shows families harvesting lavender by hand on the farm
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Lavender production began to increase during the second half of the
19th century in the south of France, following a massive rural exodus and
the abandonment of land that had been cleared of forest and cultivated
for centuries. Robust and undemanding, lavender rapidly spread over the
abandoned farmland and hills.
At the time, the use of perfumes and cosmetics grew sharply under the
influence of fashion and increase in urban populations. The city of Grasse in the
French region of Alpes-Maritime played a very important role in developing the
perfume industry.
Gary at the perfumery in Grasse explaining to members how antique distillation equipment worked.
In the second half of the 19th century, several companies from Grasse set up
stills near the fields where the lavender grew and hired local farmers to distill
the lavender on their behalf. This immediately resulted in the rapid growth of
harvesting in the mountainous areas of Haute-Provence, which had previously
been dominated by small cattle herds and food crops.
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Tourists who visit Provence love to buy items made from lavender.
Illustration comparing the different species of lavender.
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Because lavender is easy to grow, requires little care, and has a long shelf life, it
was a gift from heaven for small-scale farmers because they could hold onto the
oil and choose to sell when they thought they could get a good price. This led to
lavender becoming an item of speculation.
Lavender was originally harvested by women, children, shepherds, and small
farmers in their free time, but the harvesting business became organized and
intensified at the end of the 19th century, when it eventually grew to a yearly
production of more than 100 tons of lavender oil in 1923.
Over the years, the production of spike lavender (Lavandula latifolia) was
abandoned in favor of fine lavender and the hybrid lavandin, which grew from 0
to 1,000 tons of oil production between 1925 and 1980. Beginning in the early
1950s, the harvesting of wild lavender has almost entirely disappeared, replaced
by farm cultivation and production.
Lavender is a part of the Lamiaceae family, which includes thyme, sage,
oregano, savory mint, and basil. They are flowering plants that form ears at the
top of floral stems. The corolla, which consists of five petals that for a tube,
emerges from a calyx that is fused with five sepals, the outer leaf-like part of the
flower that encases a developing bud. After pollination, the corolla wilts and falls
off, and the tubular structure remains where the seeds develop.
Three species grow naturally in Provence:
1. Lavandula stoechas, also called Spanish lavender or butterfly lavender
2. Lavandula spica, also called spike lavender or Lavandula latifolia
3. Lavandula angustifolia, known as true or fine lavender or common
lavender; also called Lavandula officinalis by the pharmaceutical industry
We were interested in true or fine lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), both
for the quality of its oil and its resistance to cold, as it grows best at elevations
between 2,000 and 4,600 feet. As true lavender can be cloned, to further
differentiate between clonal lavender (grown from cuttings) and lavender where
each individual plant is genetically unique (grown from seed), we call the latter
population lavender. As a note, lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia) is a naturally
occurring hybrid of true and spike lavenders, cloned for mass production.
In the 1930s, lavender harvesting and distilling became more organized. As
farmers realized there was money to be made, they set up their own network.
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They purchased freshly harvested
lavender at the distillation location
and sold the oil primarily through
the market in Grasse, France,
which eventually became known as
the perfume capital of the world.
As lavender’s desirability spread,
Provence’s notoriety spread far
and wide.
In the interwar period, farmers
began large-scale cultivation, sowing
fine lavender seeds and growing
lavender’s hybrid, lavandin, along
with clonal lavender from cuttings.
The development of these
techniques did not change the quality
of the lavenders and lavandin. Similar
to fine wines, each type of lavender
has its own chemical composition,
and thus, their aroma and essence
vary depending on the environment
in which they are grown.
Population lavender grows best
in calcareous soil at a low elevation
of 2,000 feet with strong sunlight.
A calcareous soil has high levels of both magnesium carbonate and calcium,
compounds that come from limestone that has decayed and is easily accessible to
the plants. These minerals also reduces soil acidity, help the soil maintain cooler
temperatures, and balance water retention and drainage.
However, population lavender has difficulty competing with other plants
growing in the same area. Bees, on the other hand, are highly attracted to
lavender because of its strong and pleasant aroma and brightly colored flowers.
Lavender flowers provide the bees with nectar and pollen, and many lavender
farmers keep bees for the wonderful honey they provide.
Different types of early distillers. These illustrations were
taken from a book published in 1597 and can be seen in
the museum at Young Living's headquarters in Lehi, Utah.
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The planting season runs from mid-November to mid-April, with a pause
in December and January when it is too cold. The fields are planted in rows to
facilitate the cultivating and harvesting machinery. Each row is spaced 4 to 5 feet
apart for lavender and 5 to 6 feet apart for lavandin, averaging a density of 5,000
to 6,000 plants per acre for lavender and 3,250 to 4,000 plants for lavandin.
Different methods of soil preparation and planting are used with tools such as
a two-toothed dibber, a pickaxe, and now, more commonly, a planting machine.
The fields need to be hoed two to three times between March and early June.
Some weeding needs to be done along the rows and between them, and fertilizer
added to the soil, often composted lavender straw, as now the straw is less
frequently used as fuel for distillation. Well-managed fields of lavender can last up
to 10 years, with production starting in the second year and reaching its peak in
the third or fourth year.
Harvesting takes place between July and August, depending on variety,
elevation, and weather. Population lavender blooms earlier than lavandin, but
determining its optimal harvest time is more difficult. Because each plant is
slightly different, the lavender must be harvested even though some plants are
just beginning to bloom and the other plants are losing their flowers and forming
seeds. Lavandin and clonal lavenders do not pose this problem, as they mature
consistently and are cut when 60 percent of the flowers have wilted.
For a long time, lavender was planted somewhat randomly in fields and cut by
hand with a sickle. Then Félix Eysseric, a true pioneer of mechanical cutting, built
the first mechanized lavender cutter. A few years later, when mechanical cutting
became more widespread, lavender fields were replanted in rows. Contemporary
harvesters still operate similarly: a lifting system composed of two tined wheels
lift the stems and orient them perpendicular to the sickle bar cutter. The stems are
then bound in bundles, conveyed into a bags or large bins, or chopped to reduce
the stalks to small pieces before being dumped into distillation containers and
taken to the distillery.
With the arrival of mechanized cutting, lavender growers became more
productive. Harvesting by hand required at least eight people per acre, while one
person could harvest an acre of lavender with a machine in about an hour. As the
amount of time between cutting and distillation was also reduced, another benefit
was that it also increased the oil yield from the distillation.
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Condenser
Steam Generator Extraction Chamber Separator
Illustration of simple distillation
Distillation is accomplished with steam, produced either in an older style
boiler or a modern steam generator. Steam is injected into the base of the
extraction chamber and moves up through the plant material packed tightly in
the extraction chamber.
The steam heats the plant material and causes the essential oil to be released.
The steam then carries the essential oil vapor up through the swan neck and
through the condenser where the the vapor cools and condenses back into a
liquid. The liquid then passes into the separator where the oil, which is less
dense than water, rises to the surface, and is collected in a Florentine vase, also
called an essencier. The oil in the separator can be poured off by opening the
higher of the two taps, and the floral water can be drained off by opening the
lower tap.
Long practiced by scientists, doctors, and alchemists, distillation spread in
Provence during the 15th and 16th centuries. The increase in industrial demand
for lavender essential oil led to the the proliferation of distillation units. Early
distilleries were mobile, and demand grew and distilleries increased in size, they
were built as permanent installations.
Early distilleries were quite simple. The material to be distilled was immersed
in a water bath which was then boiled via a hearth that burned wood or lavender
straw that had already been distilled. As time went on, distillation processes
became more efficient and moved away from water bath distillation, to dry
steam distillation which uses less fuel.
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Container distillation, also called green-chopped distillation, has gradually
replaced traditional distillation. As the lavender is harvested, the stalks and
flowers are chopped into small pieces and collected in a hopper truck. The
chopped material is then transferred into a shipping container-like box placed in
the field. When the container is filled, it is loaded onto a truck and transported
to the distillery. At the distillery, a lid is secured to the top of the container
and steam inlet and outlet pipes are connected to the bottom and top of the
container so the steam can pass through the plant material. In this way the
container becomes the distillation chamber.
When distillation is complete, the container lid is removed, the steam pipes
are disconnected, and the container taken away to be emptied of the cooked
lavender straw, which is composted. The container is then taken back to the
field, ready for another load of freshly chopped lavender.
This type of distillation significantly reduces labor and saves time because
there was no post-harvest drying. Another benefit is that oil yield is increased
by about 10 percent. We made these changes to the distillation method only
after years of research proved the quality of the oil could be maintained. Many
distillers still use the more traditional distillation equipment, mainly because of
the cost of upgrading.
Recognized since antiquity for its virtues, lavender essential oil still has a
prominent place in the perfume industry as a raw material, yet the majority
of lavender oil is used for aromatherapy. Historically, lavender is known for
its many uses. Research conducted throughout the world, at many technical
institutions, is available online from various publications.
Incidentally, when we were distilling lavender with Marcel Espieu, as each batch
was nearing completion we would collect a small amount of condensate before
it went through the separator to see if any essential oil was still being extracted.
One day, Marcel accidentally drank a small amount of this floral water. He tried
to spit it out, but swallowed some of it, nonetheless. Marcel didn’t experience
any negative effects and continued his workday like normal. Today, using oils
internally has become very common; but in those days it was unheard of.
110

— XI —
SAVOILLAN’S FARM,
WHERE IT ALL STARTED
In 1992, I left the shop I was managing with my wife in Séderon. The
previous couple of years enabled me to test my blends of essential oils and
develop a presentation for the public, and as is often the case when a new path is
chosen, an opportunity presented itself.
I learned that there was an experimental farm for aromatic and medicinal
plants a few kilometers away, with a laboratory and micro-distillations for
perfumery use. It was located on the Saint-Agricol farm, a very old and beautiful
property located at the top of the Savoillan Village on a hill at the foot of Mont
Ventoux, which had been purchased by the Vaucluse Departmental Council.
The first time I visited the property, it was dilapidated and there were many
unused spaces in the building. Tourists came, drawn by both the lavender and
Gary and I enjoyed our time together immensely at the Saint-Agricol farm.
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Nicolas, Jane, me, and my father on the Saint-Agricol farm in Savoillian.
Jacob, Gary, me, Jane, and Marthe at the Saint-Agricol farm.
112

clary sage fields surrounding it and by the well-kept botanical garden, where
about 50 different plants were grown. Unfortunately, no one was available to
provide the tourists with any information.
I made a proposal to the department council for a tourist-based rental. My
offer was accepted, which meant I had found the ideal place to introduce
essential oils to the public. I was finally able to talk about essential oils and their
virtues for the well-being of everyone.
I rented a portion of the premises and set up a reception center, shop, and
demonstration area for the tourists. I also guided them through the gardens
to show what had been planted. I had immediate success with buses full of
tourists coming from everywhere. The farm became a must for tour operators. In
addition, hotels and resort centers were sending me their clients, so I was hiring
up to seven people during high season. I worked there for 10 years and became
exhausted from the pressure of retail sales, as well as team management.
In 1992, Gary brought the first group of members to France. This was before
he formed Young Living with Mary in 1994. Gary had broken his foot and had
a cast on his leg, but that didn’t seem to stop him from driving a nine-passenger
van around France full of essential oil enthusiasts. Ever since his early logging
accident, Gary was in constant pain, which never stopped him, so a broken foot
was a minor hindrance to him, or at
least he acted that way.
Gary always promoted moderation
and a quiet life, yet he lived in the fast
lane. By doing so, he pushed me at his
same pace, systematically disrupting
the programs I set up for him, like
the time he drove the first group back
to the Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Forward-looking, I had organized a
return to Paris in two stages, but that
was before I had taken my friend’s
unpredictability into account.
Mixing and experimenting with different aromas
challenged my creativity to make products to sell to
the tourists who visited my shop.
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Sometime before, Gary had met a Swiss man living in the United States, a
trailblazer in the field of essential oils, whom he visited in Switzerland. On the
highway leading us to Paris, Gary saw the sign indicating the direction toward
Geneva. Without a second thought, he changed directions and decided to show
the group an open-sky museum and its amusement park full of Swiss plants.
Being close to Lyon, we drove about three hours before we got to the
museum, which was about to close. Gary managed to convince the employees to
let us visit, and everyone was able to explore this must-see, while I was quickly
canceling the bookings made previously.
Two hours later, in the middle of the night, we hit the road again toward
Paris to catch a plane leaving the next morning. However, the ATMs were
empty. For once, I took the initiative, slightly twisting Gary’s arm, to rent hotel
rooms, where we crammed three to a bed. What an adventure that was; a bit
uncomfortable, but with a lot of laughter. Gary had such a magnetism about
him that everyone just seemed to go along without complaining. I guess it was
part of the Gary Young adventure.
During that trip, the Seed to Seal quality concept continued to develop in
Gary’s mind. Back then, we were spending a lot of time on the farm in the
botanical garden, and we were in the process of building a small distillery. As
usual, Gary was enthusiastic and ambitious, but he wanted us to invest in our
own farm so people could visit and experience the production, harvest, and
distillation.
The Saint-Agricol farm, as long as it was operating, was ideal for this.
However, we were the only tenants and were subject to the goodwill of
politicians who had offered us only a two- to three-year contract, with no
guarantee of renewal and, above all, no commercial compensation in the
event of non-renewal. Gary knew that everything could stop overnight, and
his suspicions were right. Following a change in the political majority, the
department council decided to close the experimental center, and the farm was
abandoned.
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Broken ankle and all, Gary led his first group of Young Living members to France in 1992.
Members visiting Marcel’s distillery in Séderon.
We were both frustrated and felt we had been dealt with unfairly by the
government, but there was nothing we could do. Gary kept looking forward and
promoting the idea of finding a farm we could buy that would be ours. He was
not one to give up, so he kept encouraging me to keep looking. Finding a farm
in the right place was not easy. Eventually, after looking for eight years, I found
the farm in Simiane-la-Rotonde, the first Young Living farm abroad.
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116

— XII —
THE SIMIANE- LA- ROTONDE
FARM AND DISTILLERY
In 2002, Marcel Espieu told me about a farmer in Simiane-la-Rotonde who
was about to retire and was selling his farm. After leaving Savoillan, Gary and
I really wanted to start our own educational farm. From the start, Gary wanted
to bring the distributors and show them how essential oils were produced. In
his mind, it was impossible to sell something without having used it or, more
importantly, without knowing how it is produced. He had already created his
own farm in Idaho but never abroad. Savoillan not only confirmed the idea but
also reinforced it.
We found the land in Simiane and met Alain Cassan, the mayor of the
village, the president of the economic committee of perfume plants, and above
all, a farmer. Two years earlier, the town hall had bought the local castle to
Gary explaining the process of distillation.
Our co-op distillery for our farm in Simiane-la-Rotonde
before the remodel.
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The ribbon cutting at the castle in Simiane-la-Rotonde in August 2014.
renovate it. Yet one of the conditions to obtain the necessary subsidies for
financing the renovations was the presence of an activity that represented the
region inside the castle.
Alain knew what I had achieved at the Saint-Agricol farm, and he asked me to
do the same inside the castle. I was not at all thrilled with the idea. In Savoillan,
I had developed a public reception center with conferences on essential oils
before I went to the gift shop to sell the products, and I even had a small dining
service. I also endured an administrative closure by the department council
of their own farm because the buildings were not up to code for receiving the
public. That was enough for me.
When I arrived in Simiane, I was exhausted and did not want to go back into
retail, but I didn’t even have the opportunity to say a word to Gary, who got
carried away immediately after the meeting. He had always been in love with
medieval stone buildings. The opportunity to set up a shop in a castle was too
enticing. He twisted my arm, and I left Séderon for Simiane.
The beginning was a catastrophe, and the installation was very difficult. While
we were finalizing the purchase of the land, Gary went to Ecuador to develop a
big project there, which left me alone to start the farm. A year later, when Alain
Cassan visited with me again about his project, I had no choice but to accept his
offer and move into the castle.
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The Young Living shop in the castle.
There I was back in retail
when I was already very busy
with wholesaling essential oils
and farming. Some years we
welcomed up to 15,000 tourists.
Thank goodness Jane—who was
a trained naturopath and able
to answer so many questions
relating to the oils—carried most
Jane speaking at the Young Living 20th anniversary of the work and responsibility
farm celebration at the castle.
in the castle for many of those
years. But after spending 11 years there, I decided it was time to hand the castle
tourism back to Young Living.
From the moment Gary and I purchased this farm together, I really became
his partner, the only one he ever had. As a producer-grower on the farm and
because of the subtleties of French administration, I was the manager and the
director of his farm.
Simiane was the first farm Young Living had in a foreign country. It had the
distinctive feature to work as a cooperative and to be more educational than
truly productive, due to its small size.
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Members learning about field work. Wildcrafting with members in 2006.
Gary and Mary enjoyed wildcrafting lavender with the members in 2012.
When we hosted Young Living groups at Simiane, we provided them with a
comprehensive program. They spent a lot of time on the farm walking the fields
and picking lavender sprigs, watching the distillations, and visiting the shop in
the castle we called Sainte-Victoire, named after the patron saint of Simiane-la-
Rotonde who lived in a cave just above it and healed the people in the nearby
villages with local medicinal plants.
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We really enjoyed our time together to honor Marthe Espieu during lunch with the members. It was the first time
Gary had seen Marthe since Marcel’s passing.
Gary and I with Jean-Marie, Nicolas, Benoît, and Philipe at the distillery in Simiane speaking to members at the 20th
year anniversary celebration.
At first, Gary joined each group, but when his Ecuador project grew, he
handed the task over to me. Each time, we hosted 30 to 50 distributors for a few
days in our beautiful region filled with aromatic plants. The word spread and
more and more distributors came to be a part of the farm.
On the first day, we took everyone to the hills to pick wild plants. Each
participant was given a small brush sickle and a wicker basket. We started at
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Gary in true form, teaching with joy.
around 7 a.m., before the sun was too high and the temperature was too hot. At
10 a.m., we met in the farm courtyard, where I had put a small, old-fashioned
copper still to distill the plants we had picked that same morning.
To keep everyone entertained while the still heated up, I created a salad
dressing competition. I divided everyone into teams of three to four people,
and each team made a dressing with olive oil and hemp oil flavored with basil,
marjoram, thyme, oregano, and rosemary essential oil. I asked them to make it
as balanced as possible. I wanted them to experiment and see how strong an oil
could be, and above all, discover that it often takes only one drop to give the
right flavor and aroma, making the comparison to how just one drop could have
a beneficial effect for a person’s health.
When the essential oil started bubbling up in the separator, the distributors
filled small vials to take home. In the evening, the hardier distributors hoed
between the rows of plants. The next day, I took them to the lavender fields to
observe the work done there, as well as to see the region. They made lavender
bouquets that they kept as the main souvenir of their visit to Provence.
The distributor events were usually scheduled toward the end of June and
early July during the distillation period. The distributors were delighted, having
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seen the lavender fields in bloom and having learned how essential oils were
extracted. It was a great experience and very valuable in terms of education, as
well as in production.
The farms were highly criticized because they made no money and were
expensive to run. That frustrated Gary because he felt like those in the office in
Utah couldn’t understand their great value; but the farms were valuable to the
distributors because they gave them tremendous knowledge about essential oil
production and what it takes to produce oils.
Gary was adamant about the farm and said he would continue to grow lavender
and always make the farm a place for members to visit. Today, the Young Living
farms are thriving, and thousands of members have had life-changing experiences
by participating in the Seed to Seal quality commitment.
The farms enable us to watch and control the production but to also grow the
plants in their original environment, which adds a lot to the research. Thanks
to Gary’s tenacity and vision, the members can visit farms around the world
to see how Young Living essential oils are produced. They can then share them
and build their businesses with more knowledge and commitment and answer
questions with intelligence and integrity.
I don’t know of any other companies that operate in this way, so openly like
this one. Once again, this showed Gary’s prophetic and innovative character.
Very early on, he wanted his farms to be places of production, as well as places
of education and discovery for his distributors.
Gary chose to have his members come and be a part of the planting and
harvesting, as well as work in the distillery, so they could have the knowing
within their hearts that what Young Living produced was of the highest quality.
Of course, it costs a lot of money to provide the facilities to accommodate
so many people, but profitability was not Gary’s purpose. His purpose was to
provide a genuine place for education and experimentation to advance research
and create a lasting, memorable experience for his distributors. I have a vivid
recollection of that.
Gary was very interested in melissa oil and spent a lot of time doing research.
In this small still, he tried distilling very fresh melissa picked early in the
morning; then he tried picking it early and left it to pre-wilt. He also tried
harvesting during mid-morning and before noon.
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The harvester Gary designed and built for the St. Maries farm streamlined the melissa harvest and made it enjoyable
for everyone involved.
He continued his research at home on his Idaho farm. The oil was difficult to
obtain and certainly was not profitable in the beginning. The soil and climate
were similar to France, and the plants grew well, but one challenge is that
melissa oil has a has a very high specific gravity or density, close to that of water,
and is, therefore, very difficult to separate from the floral water.
Melissa is very sensitive to the way it is harvested and has a very low yield,
which makes it a very expensive oil to produce. For a long time, Gary conducted
a lot of experiments and did a lot of testing until he was able to produce the
best oil and the largest quantity possible. Whatever Gary discovered, he always
shared with the producers in France to help them improve their yield.
Gary was highly respected, and nobody questioned his research. What he
said made sense, and professionals paid attention to his results. They were very
happy to have his information. It was obviously in his best interest to share. No
one could provide the volumes he wanted, so of course he wanted to help them
improve their yield and make as much progress as possible. He liked to talk to
producers, walk through the fields, and see the results. He was an enthusiast,
and the farms he founded and developed throughout the world are a testimony
of this more than anything else he did.
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— XIII —
THE SEED TO SEAL
TRADEMARK OF QUALITY
Gary liked the producers he worked with and
considered them true partners from whom he
could learn on all levels. He understood very early
on that he wanted to develop a quality concept
that would eventually allow Young Living to
control every aspect of production. This quality
commitment is embodied in the Seed to Seal
trademark, which envisions the traceability of the
seed all the way to distillation.
The standards of other companies are usually limited to the method of
production and the quality they desire. At Young Living, quality commitment
envisions a process to control every aspect of production—from seed selection
to the soil they grow in, cultivation, the harvest, and all the way through to
the distillation process. Choosing the right soil will determine the essential oil
components that the plant will produce. The elevation, weather, and region are
also part of what determines oil quality. It is important for a producer to know
why and where lavender is planted to produce quality oil.
Lavender farms in France have never been irrigated, so if there was no rain for
15 days, the plants would begin to die. In the late 1980s, the farmers suffered
a drought for several years in a row, which destroyed many lavender farms. In
2015, Gary decided to put in an irrigation system because he didn’t want our
farm to have a problem in the future, definitely something new for the farmers.
Oil quality may vary depending on the time the plants are harvested. Research
is a very important part of our Seed to Seal standard. One of the recent studies
we conducted consisted of separating the east- and west-facing sides of one plant
and distilling them separately. After analyzing the oil, we could see a noticeable
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difference between the two sides of the same plant, because one had more sun
exposure than the other. There are so many factors that can influence the quality
of an essential oil.
Quality distillation is determined by the three key variables of temperature,
pressure, and time. Lavender oil contains more than 400 different constituents;
some are lighter and more volatile, and some are heavier and less volatile. A
poorly controlled distillation in terms of pressure or temperature can modify
certain constituents, which destroys them. Therefore, low temperature and
minimal pressure are critical for obtaining all the constituents and achieving a
complete chemical profile.
All of the Young Living farms have very precise distillation standards that are
specific to the plant material being distilled. At our recently upgraded distillery
in France, because of the amount of steam we are able to move through the
plant material, we can distill lavender in just one hour and still extract all of the
essential oil components. Previous distillation equipment required us to distill
for an hour and a half to extract the components.
Some competitors choose to distill for a much shorter amount of time, which
reduces costs because it uses less fuel. In the first half of the distillation, 80
percent of the volume of the oil is extracted, but that almost entirely consists of
the lighter molecules. If distillation is stopped at that point, you wouldn’t just be
leaving 20 percent of the oil behind, but a majority of the heavier constituents
that are some of the most important beneficial compounds. This practice would
leave you without a complete essential oil, which is necessary for all of the
benefits we are looking for.
The Seed to Seal trademark tells us that the product is of premium quality and
adheres to the highest standards of production. An important aspect of Seed to
Seal is ongoing research to improve all of our processes to guarantee that Young
Living is on the cutting edge.
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— XIV —
UNDERSTANDING LAVENDER:
POPULATION, CLONAL, AND LAVANDIN
Population lavender, clonal lavender, and lavandin all look and smell the
same to the average person. Each essential oil bottle label must indicate the
botanical name and, therefore, define what is in the bottle. This can differentiate
varieties such as lavandin (Lavandula X hybrida) and true lavender (Lavandula
angustifolia) but not the techniques of reproduction (clonal vs population).
The word lavender is the Latin and botanical name of a plant of which there
are about 200 varieties, with flowers ranging from white to dark blue and light
blue to pink and heights varying from one plant to another, as well as a different
scent for each one. It is the variations that truly define true lavender. Lavandula
angustifolia, or true lavender, is the variety that has the most desirable aroma and
qualities for therapeutic uses.
To understand the difference in qualities, one needs to know that there are
several ways of growing lavender. At the Simiane farm, we want our fields to be
healthy in order to harvest the seeds. We harvest and distill a large portion of the
field but leave two or three rows to ripen and produce seeds, which is usually at
the end of August. When ready, we cut the entire plant and leave it to dry on
a concrete floor covered with a large tarp. After the seeds dry, a tractor drives
over the tarp to break the calyx (the outer protective covering) and free the seeds
from the tubular part of the stem.
Plants grown from seeds are called population lavender, and the seeds are so
tiny that when they are collected, they have to be separated from the dried parts
of the plants by sifting them using a sieve. They are then bagged and sent to a
nursery where they will later be seeded for germination and grown into starts
that will be transplanted in the fields.
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The flower and calyx of a lavender plant.
Notice the difference in size and amount of flowers between wild lavender, clonal lavender, and lavandin.
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In Simiane, Alain Cassan’s grandfather, August, was a key figure in the
development of lavender in the area. With his wife, Marie, August planted
one of the first population lavender fields in 1907. Seeing the uprooting and
planting of wild lavender plants, August and Marie decided to fortify the plants.
They thought they would get better results by planting them in rows, which is
how we plant today.
Population lavender is identified by the uniqueness of each plant in any given
field. To clearly explain what population lavender is, Nicolas, my son, tells a love
story between a mother lavender and a father lavender who love each other very
much and are going to have a baby, a seed that will be unique in the same way
its parents are unique.
No two seeds are identical; therefore, no two plants, grown from seed, are
identical. Each plant grown from seed has its own unique color and size and
will produce a unique essential oil profile. Fields of true population lavender
often look very different from pictures of lavender fields seen on the internet, in
magazines, or in books.
Unfortunately, if we had limited ourselves to population lavender, we would
never have satisfied Gary’s dream and Young Living’s demand.
Let me give you definitions to help you better understand what I am going to
explain:
• Population lavender is grown from seed.
• Clonal lavender is grown from cuttings of population lavender plants. The
problem is that clonal lavender has a bad connotation, especially in France, as
cloning is often associated with GMOs. But lavender has not been genetically
modified. We could have avoided this problem if we had educated about
“cultivars” from the beginning. Cultivars describe plants developed through
human selection in which plants or seeds are chosen for their unique qualities,
whether morphological, aesthetic, technical, an adaptation to a biotope (a
region uniform in environmental conditions), or resistance to certain diseases.
• Lavandin is a hybrid between true lavender and spike lavender, which is
high in the compound camphene. Camphene can be a bit caustic to the
skin but is a good skin cleanser, which is why it is used in Young Living’s
Purification essential oil blend.
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Gary always wanted to grow population lavender because of its diversity and
sustainability, which were extremely interesting for aromatherapy; however, with
changes in weather and demand, growing it became difficult because it was hard
to find fields at the specific elevation where population lavender could grow.
Eventually, Young Living’s demand for population lavender exceeded the
world’s production, so I suggested to Gary that we look at clonal lavender as
a complement to population lavender. He was not too keen on the idea, but
after analyzing the situation, he realized that this could be a way to increase our
production without affecting the purity of the oil, prevent production shortages,
and avoid limiting the economic growth of the producers in Provence.
Naturally, Gary and I wanted to assure the quality of the oil profile, so we
decided to develop approximately 15 clones, rather than one or two like other
growers. Each selection is unique to itself, so by using 15 different selections, we
would most likely be able to combine the different selections of the individual
plant’s uniqueness and still achieve a good quality lavender, while also growing a
majority of population lavender.
For example, if we have one acre of population lavender, we would have 6,000
unique and diverse plants. If we have one acre of clonal lavender, we would have
6,000 plants but no diversity. If we grow a majority of population lavender and
combine that with a variety of 15 different clones chosen for their quality of oil,
we still have immense diversity among the plants we are growing and, therefore,
can produce a full-spectrum, high-quality, and pure essential oil.
For the past 15 to 20 years, diseases have endangered the very existence of
lavender. Without this innovative approach, there probably would have been
little lavender left in the region today. By ensuring diversity in our fields, we
increase productivity without reducing sustainability.
To produce clonal lavender, the process is simple. In a field of population
lavender, we can select specific plants and choose them as mother plants. Other
growers often select the biggest plants that produce more flowers to get the most
yield possible; however, the question of quality remains the most important to us.
If we harvest a single plant in a population lavender field, distill it, and analyze
its oil, we will know its oil profile and can choose whether to keep it as a mother
plant. The following year, the stems from that mother plant can be replanted
into a clonal lavender field, chosen for its constituents, rather than yield.
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Clonal lavender is also selected for its adaptation to a certain environment.
For example, if we wanted to grow lavender at a much lower elevation than
where population lavender could survive, we would plant it at the lower
elevation and wait to see which plants thrive. Those that survive could be used
for mother plants for future clones to be grown at that elevation.
Choosing approximately 15 clones to capture different essential oil profiles
when blended together maintains a degree of diversity. This method yields the
quality we expect and gives us the ability to meet the demand. Without all of
this, we would not have sufficient lavender for Young Living.
In the case of population lavender, natural selection is still alive and well.
Because of this, the species will naturally reinforce and renew itself. On the
other hand, clonal lavender is selected through human intervention but never
evolves, which makes it vulnerable to a changing environment.
Because of Gary’s interest in plants grown from seed (population lavender), he
kept lavender from certain extinction by preserving lavender’s full biodiversity
so it could continue to evolve. To this day, population lavender comprises
the majority of the lavender we grow, and we fully intend to keep it that way.
This also helped save hundreds of small-scale growers scattered throughout the
mountains.
Without Gary’s help, these growers would have been replaced by lowland
producers inclined to favor lavandin. Whenever possible, Gary provided grants
to install irrigation systems or upgrade distillation equipment. He helped
tremendously when he accepted the growers’ request to provide a forecast
estimate that projected five years into the future.
This helped the farmers plant accordingly, keeping in mind that there is a
three-year period between when lavender is planted and when it reaches full
maturity. Thanks to this, we encouraged our producers to replant population
lavender every time they uprooted an old crop.
Lavandin, the hybrid lavender (Lavandula x intermedia or Lavandula hybrida)
is a naturally occurring hybrid between two lavender species: Lavandula
angustifolia (true lavender) and Lavandula latifolia (spike lavender). It has a
pungent smell and is native to the Mediterranean area.
Many producers on the Valensole Plateau chose to grow lavandin even though
it is very rich in camphor, which is disadvantageous for aromatherapy.
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The plants are large and yield a lot of oil. Roughly 1,000 tons of lavandin
essential oil are produced per year, compared to only 100 tons of lavender
essential oil. Being a hybrid, lavandin is sterile and can multiply only through
vegetative reproduction cuttings.
For those who are not concerned about quality, lavandin is a more profitable
plant to grow. It is also quite common for camphene to be extracted from the
lavandin essential oil, after which the oil is sold on the market as true lavender.
For this and many other reasons, it is important to know from where your
essential oil comes.
I am grateful that Gary foresaw the need to control the quality of our
essential oils, which is why Young Living has its own farms to produce lavender
and secure its quality. Because of the unique way we combine 15 different
clonal varieties with population lavender, when the harvest is completed, we
combine all the oil together to create the most diverse, rich, and highest quality
Lavandula angustifolia essential oil.
132

— XV —
THE THREAT TO
LAVENDER
While Gary saved lavender from disappearing by favoring population
lavender, the CRIEPPAM (Regional Inter-professional Experiment Center in
Aromatic and Medicinal Plants) also played an essential role. French population
lavender has always been sensitive to decline mainly due to a phytoplasma, a
bacterium that colonizes lavender and lavandin and causes its sap to change
and the plant to die. The bacterium is passed on by the leafhopper (from the
Cicadellidae family), a flying insect that lives its entire lifecycle on lavender,
which explains the seriousness of the phenomenon.
This disease is mentioned in writings from the early 20th century. The
first major crisis affected lavandin on the Valensole Plateau in the 1960s and
1970s. At the time, there was only one variety, Lavandin abrial. Faced with
the mortality of the plants, professionals thought they would never manage to
produce it again.
Next came Lavandin grosso, named after Pierre Grosso, a grower, living in the
Goult area who found it after sorting plants in the fields. Producers managed to
repel the disease for some time, but eventually the phytoplasma strains evolved
to 16 different strains, one of which attacks the Grosso.
Some blame the blight on global warming, but without sufficient proof. I
believe it is the intense growing and bad agricultural practices, such as not
rotating crops, causing this decrease to spread. What we do know is that the
leafhopper is found throughout Europe and no longer limits itself to lowland
lavender.
Leafhopper larvae grow on the roots and develop a white mold to protect
themselves, which kills the plant. Females lay their eggs in July and August,
and larvae hatch and grow on the roots all winter. To prevent the insects from
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French family laughed when he said that one day he would return with his French lavender seeds from St. Maries to
the lavender of Provence after the tremendous loss from seven years of drought and terrible chemical saturation
that almost destroyed the lavender of Provence. This was a great day for everyone.
settling on the lavender, workers place glue traps among the plants. During the
springtime and until the end of June, the new generation comes out and feeds
on the plant's sap. If the plant is infected with the phytoplasma, the adult insects
will ingest it, becoming carriers themselves and spreading it to other plants.
Given the scope of this phenomenon, the CRIEPPAM is working on
the creation of new population lavender with a defined number of parents
chosen for their resistance to decline and their quality, thus creating varieties
with greater resistance. Growers also place glue traps in many fields to attract
the insect and study how many are developing in any given field. When the
population grows too big, growers pull the plants and take out the field to stop
the spread of the disease.
Simultaneously, some producers who wish to avoid using new varieties try to
develop direct seeding, with some success in the sense that instead of spacing
plants by a foot, they have up to 300 plants within a linear meter. As a result,
when one withers, another one takes over. Over the lifetime of the plot, the
improvement is quite clear.
The only inconvenience is the very large number of plants and the phenomenal
problem it creates, dividing the yield in half. However, since the producer’s main
concern is profitability, with a yield of only 20 pounds of essential oil per acre,
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some do not make ends meet and decide to uproot and plant a crop that is more
financially stable. Others are happy with only 10 pounds. The difference is due to
the fact that they have different motives, costs, and expectations.
We help finance farmers who choose this path, as we believe that allowing the
plants to naturally evolve and resist this decease is the better option for the quality
of the oil and the sustainability of the plants. Today, lavender can live between two
and twelve years, which is mostly due to the quality of the planting.
If lavender is planted just before a very dry year, it will not root properly, and
some gaps will be difficult to fill. Conversely, lavender that is planted before
a rainy year will live two to three years longer. For this reason, the decline of
lavender is a phenomenon that is difficult to stop. It does not have the same
impact from one area to another or from one year to another. Climate change
amplifies the problem due to a decrease in the regularity of rainfall, late frosts,
and temperatures favoring the development of leafhoppers.
Another natural way to fight the spread of this disease is by using white clay. For
example, we can use a spray on the young lavender plants during the summer. This
hides the plants and makes it harder for the insects to recognize them; however,
every time it rains, the clay washes away and we have to put more on the crop.
Planting specific cover crops can also be effective. The leafhopper can’t fly very
high, so making a physical barrier has proven to stop the insect from going from
one row to the next.
My son, Nicolas, in some of the fields on the farm, is planting alternating
rows of healthy lavender and oregano to see if it helps limit the spread of the
disease. There is no perfect way to stop the spread, but a combination of natural
techniques is the best approach for me. Thanks to Young Living and the research
we do, we are helping all the growers in Provence move in the right direction.
Despite the research done at the CRIEPPAM, we still do not know all the
mechanisms that explain why a plant is sensitive to decline. Some plants can
be highly productive and vigorous yet very sensitive. In 1994, members of the
CRIEPPAM traveled to Bulgaria and brought back samples of their main cultivated
varieties to develop in France. The experience was short-lived, as that particular
lavender gave a phenomenal yield but was catastrophically sensitive to decline.
Under their nets, sheltered from insects, the plants were the most beautiful
and had amazing yields; but in regular fields, they all died. When distilled,
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the oil was very different. Some farmers even remember the fumes during
distillation being very strong for the eyes.
Conversely, farmers can choose varieties that are highly resistant to decline
but have a very poor yield; however, these results are not satisfactory either.
Nevertheless, the purpose is to grow lavender that will produce essential oil
in sufficient quantities to be profitable for the farmers, while also keeping the
quality we have worked on for so many years.
To fight against decline and improve yields, one possible solution is to
produce clonal lavender that is strong enough to thrive in natural conditions,
even though other difficulties could arise. The CRIEPPAM may select a variety,
have it germinated in vitro to block potential viruses, and grow it in a tunnel,
but its role ends there.
The future of the plant is then in the hands of nurseries willing to use it as a
mother plant to make cuttings for future sales. In this case, the producers need
to be willing to plant a few hundred plant varieties in different locations to be
able to show which ones survive compared to other plants.
Thanks to the CRIEPPAM, France is now producing the highest quality
essential oil possible with wonderfully innovative distillation techniques and the
best equipment. Providing training to producers, advising them, and continuing
research greatly improves the sustainability of the industry and the fight against
general decline.
The demand for lavender is exploding in the aromatherapy industry, making
it very difficult to obtain pure lavender. Approximately 400 metric tons of
lavender is produced in the world each year. Of that, France produces 80
metric tons, and of that, about 50 metric tons is for Young Living. The lavender
industry is managing little by little to convince growers to choose lavender over
lavandin. They are faced with what seems like rather insurmountable obstacles,
including limited land. Population lavender needs a specific elevation, while the
competing lavandin grows quickly and abundantly everywhere.
Today, France has the same surface area of population lavender as lavandin,
approximately 6,200 acres each, which enables Frace to offer an entire range of
quality and, therefore, satisfy all different types of markets, which is unparalleled
in the world.
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— XVI —
EINKORN— A N C I E N T G R A I N ,
THE STAFF OF LIFE
Gary was not only keen on lavender and essential oils but also on nutrition,
specifically on foods that have a low glycemic index and well-balanced amino
acids and proteins. He pursued many possibilities of feeding humanity with
healthy and natural products. He knew that refined foods—especially today’s
modern wheat—are a threat to health. Gary was always on the lookout for new
possibilities as he traveled the world.
Gary loved Egypt and told me about the hieroglyphs that he saw depicting
wheat harvesting. They reminded him of the wheat his family grew on their
farm when he was young, which was much taller than modern hybridized
wheat. He remembered how the harvested wheat was shocked and stood like
tepees where the children played hide-and-seek.
Gary and I doing our best to be seen above the tall einkorn growing at the farm in Mona.
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In 1990, Gary began his research to learn what had changed from the wheat
he knew as a child and modern hybridized wheat. He had heard about einkorn
but had little knowledge of it.
In 1995, when he and Mary were traveling through Hunza Land, he noticed
a grain being harvested in one of the fields as they drove by. It looked very
different from today’s wheat. Could that have been einkorn? He then found
some grain being grown in Turkey and the Jordan River Valley, and so the quest
continued.
Unbeknownst to Gary, I was also exploring this ancient grain. One day I
called him to see what he knew, and he told me he didn’t know very much and
wanted to know what I knew. I told him about einkorn “wheat,” also called
Triticum monococcum, and that this unmodified grain had actually been growing
for over 10,000 years in Haute-Provence and was traditionally used in crop
rotation between the years of lavender cultivation.
Its nickname is the “rice of Provence,” and in the past, it was part of the poor
man’s soup, a soup that is cooked for hours with a few bits of pork or mutton. I
have included the recipe for this dish at the end of the book.
With economic development, einkorn’s nutritional value was forgotten, and
it was mostly given to animals. Einkorn was foreign to our region but adapted
beautifully to the poor soils of Provence. Interestingly, einkorn needs no fertilizers,
pesticides, or herbicides, making it what one would deem a very hardy crop.
Einkorn ready for harvest in France.
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Some try to clone it, or hybridize it, by
crossing two different species or having
it pollinated by other grains and grasses
carried by the wind. This will only end up
with spelt, Triticum spelta, a very productive
hybrid intended for animal consumption.
Spelt has become a big competitor of
einkorn, even though it does not have as
many benefits. Like population lavender,
einkorn derives its worth, especially its
nutritional value, from the fact that each
grain is unique.
One of my lavender producers is an
einkorn enthusiast who collected most of
the local production. One day I told Gary about this man and the einkorn. I
remember the look of joy on Gary’s face, as if he had discovered a great treasure.
“I have been looking for einkorn seed everywhere, and it was hiding on my
French farm.” Gary and I exchanged ideas and began making plans. That very
evening, we rearranged our schedule so we could meet the producer, Jérôme
Reynard, the next morning.
When I introduced Gary to Jérôme, whom we all called “Blondy” in reference
to his hair color, he showed us his einkorn samples. Gary was immediately
captivated. That evening, Jean-Marie Blanc and Benoît Cassan joined us for
a meal of einkorn. Since Gary loved to cook, he embraced the idea instantly,
began learning how to cook with it, and even made pancakes. He had all kinds
of ideas and was excited about the future of einkorn in Young Living.
In Provence, farming is a tradition that sons inherit from their fathers.
Everyone is born to be a part of the family business and carry on family
traditions. It was often said that those who were born here would “stay planted”
and never leave. Jérôme’s grandparents were farmers, and like everyone at the
time, they grew lavender, some grain, a bit of rye, and a bit of einkorn and
raised some mutton. It was interesting that Jérôme always preferred growing
grain rather than lavender.
The einkorn berries will be full and plump when
completely mature and ready for harvest.
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Benoît, Gary, me, Nicolas, and Jérôme (Blondy)
When Jérôme took over the farm from his father, farming was at its worst.
Lavender production was suffering from decline, and wheat cultivation was
growing—unlike einkorn, which was still having a hard time developing and
being recognized as a viable grain. However, Jérôme rose to the challenge. He
wanted to set out on his own and believed that this grain had a perfect place to
grow in the dry, hot, meager land. In 2000, he started growing and processing
einkorn in his small shed.
In 2014, Jérôme really took a leap and became a specialist of this seemingly
unwanted crop. Einkorn is different and demands more specific care to harvest
and clean, mostly because of its tough husk. Besides this, there also wasn’t an
established market for it. Even though einkorn was a great deal more work and
far riskier, Jérôme preferred to have control over all the steps of the process.
Above and beyond his passion, einkorn was more profitable and rewarding
than simple farming, and Jérôme’s encounter with Gary proved to be decisive.
They did not speak the same language, but they understood each other.
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“Blondy” was engaging and
enthusiastic in his ingenuity.
While the husking machines were
effective with spelt, they did not
work well with einkorn. Jérôme had
to alter them to get a clean grain for
making flour. Since Gary provided
the financial means, Jérôme could
pursue his experiments and ideas,
as he still does today, producing
einkorn that is completely free of
impurities through a process that
is as mechanical as possible, so no
chemical additives are needed.
Six months later, Gary published
Gary wrote this easy-to-read book about the
his book Ancient Einkorn, Today’s
importance of einkorn, why it should be part of our
diet, and why he chose to bring it to Young Living.
Staff of Life and introduced it at
the Young Living convention.
His presentation was very exciting, as he wanted everyone to know about our
discovery. I tried to pace him and suggested we take some time until we had a
sufficient amount of einkorn ready to take to market, but Gary couldn’t wait—
he was on a roll.
Gary wanted to speed up production right away. The problem is that einkorn
requires specific knowledge to harvest and clean because it has a kernel that is
difficult to husk. It is expensive to produce and has a low yield of about 1.2 tons
per hectare, compared to 10 tons per hectare for wheat, while only 0.6 tons of
finished product is produced from that original 1.2 tons of material harvested
from the field.
Einkorn also requires a specific machine and a long, complex process. The
grains are stored in silos that maintain the proper humidity and temperature
with the use of fans. Einkorn grain is much easier to store because of its sturdy
husk, which is tougher than regular wheat. To husk the grain, it passes through
the initial machine that separates the outside layer and the berry.
Ancient
Einkorn
TODAY’S STAFF OF LIFE
Hybrid Grains, GMOs, and Chemicals
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
D. GARY YOUNG
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Gary was excited when he met Jérôme,
whom he called “Blondy.” Jérôme showed him
the processing facility for einkorn, which was the
beginning of bringing einkorn to Young Living.
Blondy keeps his facility very clean for threshing and grinding
the einkorn berries that are shipped to Young Living’s production
facility in Utah.
Everything then moves to the cleaning process. The first machine has a sifter
that sorts for size and also a suction system that removes anything lighter than
the grain. It then goes through a sorter that removes everything heavier and
longer than the grain. The berries pass through the machine several times until
they are clean and ready to be milled for flour production.
The final step of the cleaning process is a highly technical color-sorting machine
that removes anything that could be of a similar size and weight as the berries but
has a different color. Finally, the grain is milled using a grinding stone that doesn’t
heat the flour to ensure that its nutritional quality is preserved.
When Jérôme met Gary, he was working with small, old machines that
worked well but were too slow. Gary’s arrival was a game changer. He and Young
Living promised to buy a certain quantity of einkorn every year and even offered
a financial partnership to secure the supply. Jérôme invested in bigger, newer
machines that were more efficient. They established a close collaboration and a
real strategy.
Gary was a field man, and he knew about crops, unlike the technocrats who
only understood numbers. Gary understood that planning was often useless
because from one year to another, the yields could be very different. Even
though he had a multinational company to manage, Gary still had his farmer’s
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The contrast between the old and the new equipment is fascinating.
Gary loved antique farm equipment and knew immediately how to operate it.
spirit and that was enough to impress and convince the producers he met. When
Gary visited them, he always participated in whatever they were doing. He set
an example and knew exactly what was happening and was always quick to join
in and help with whatever the farmers needed.
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We made lots of discoveries about einkorn together.
As with population lavender, Gary
had amazing foresight, and through
Young Living, he not only saved
einkorn on the plateau but also gave
the area an economic boost. He was
excited about all the possibilities
with einkorn and we had a lot of
fun in the kitchen experimenting
making different products. Gary’s
teaching about the wonderful
benefits of the unhybridized grain
with its immense nutritional
content, brought einkorn to its
rightful place of recognition in the
world of grains and flours.
Gary standing in the field of einkorn in France.
144

— XVII —
H E M P, A F A I L E D E X P E R I M E N T;
DEATH BY DROUGHT
In the 2000s, I was very interested in vegetable oils, specifically to develop
massage oils. A few years earlier, when my brother was trying to help our
mother, he discovered the benefits of oils rich in omega-3.
I continued this research and discovered that hemp oil, extracted by cold
pressing the seeds of the plant, is one of the most balanced oils for topical and
internal use. Because it dries quickly, it penetrates rapidly and allows the skin to
absorb essential oils without leaving a greasy texture.
At the time, hemp was produced in France for its fibers but not for its oil.
I decided to run a production trial in 2002. Hemp oil was banned in France
and had only recently started to appear in Germany and Switzerland. However,
hemp had been grown in France for years. Proof of its production can be dated
back to 270 BC in places like the Rhône Valley. It was used to make ropes for
boats and all sorts of hemp-based fabrics.
The main road in Marseilles, equivalent to the Champs Elysées in Paris,
is called the Canebière, in reference to cannabis. In the United States, the
petroleum industry lobbied to ban hemp starting in 1937, monopolizing the
rope market with its nylon and plastic fibers—very similar to the pharmaceutical
industry and the natural health industry.
Fortunately, France did not follow suit and, incidentally, was the only
Western country to produce hemp in relatively significant quantities. Producers
continued growing it under strict government control to prevent its use as an
illegal drug. The government allowed only strains of hemp with naturally low
levels of THC, so the plants would not be considered a drug.
To ensure low THC levels, producers could purchase seeds only from one
state-controlled establishment, the Hemp Seed Conservatory. Growers had to
specify the exact surface area they intended to cultivate in order to buy the right
145

quantity of seeds for planting. In addition, farmers had to notify the mayor and
the local police of the exact location where they planted the seeds.
When I started working in Simiane, I had a small cold press to make oil that
I later analyzed. Unfortunately, that year, like the two previous years, Provence
experienced severe droughts. From the sowing of the seeds to the harvest, there
was very little rain; and since I had no irrigation system, it greatly impacted my
harvest.
Nevertheless, the plants grew to about 5 feet instead of the usual 6 to 7 feet;
but the harvesting was a catastrophe. I harvested so few seeds that I could not
even attempt to extract enough oil to test. This experience was costly, but it
showed me the unique drought resistance of hemp compared to other plants
that died at the beginning of the drought.
I decided to go on to something else and sold the floral water from the
distillation of the field in 200-liter barrels to hemp producers based in Brittany
and western France. They made hemp-based sodas and used the floral water for
flavoring. I also gave them stems from which they extracted fibers. However, I
stopped production because it was too complicated.
The plant varieties I used contained less than 0.2 percent THC, the official
standard, but they still belonged to the same category as the plants used as drugs
and also looked the same. I found a producer in Brittany who had a good yield
and who agreed to supply me with hemp oil for resale.
As for hemp essential oil, I simply gave up the idea. It was still unknown
at that time, and its benefits were not yet scientifically proven. The necessary
research would have cost several thousand euros to carry out and was, therefore,
not profitable at all. Sometimes, the best move is to pull out of the game.
Hemp did not pique Gary’s interest, although he did not doubt its benefits.
He did not believe in its sales potential because of all the complications with the
government. In the United States, hemp meant cannabis and cannabis meant
drugs. Americans did not differentiate between the two, and since 80 percent of
Young Living’s sales were in the United States, there were no opportunities for
us in the American market.
146

— XVIII —
FAREWELL, MY FRIEND
On May 12, 2018, Nicolas received an email from Mary Lou Jacobson—
Young Living’s first purchasing agent and one of Gary’s first employees with
whom I worked a lot—informing us of Gary’s passing the previous afternoon.
When Nicolas saw him the previous month, Gary had lost a lot of weight and
was in a lot of pain. Nicolas was shocked but had been hopeful, as Gary seemed
to be on the road to recovery.
We all thought Gary was invincible. He had been through so much in his life
and this was surely just another bump in the road. Yet this time was different: a
horrible stroke had won the battle and taken my friend.
At the news of Gary’s death, I was devastated, so much so that I could not
bring myself to tell our friends, all his French friends—a daunting task Nicolas
took on. Benoît and Alain Cassan, Jean-Marie Blanc, and Jérôme Raynard all
fell apart; Gary was part of the family.
Jean-Marie spoke of his adventures with Gary as the most beautiful,
professional, and human experiences of his life. Benoît, when referring to Gary’s
passing, said he never got over the emotional blow. Blondy was speechless and
could not express the magnitude of loss and despair he felt. Everyone had tears
in their eyes, and their voices were shaky with emotion when talking about
Gary’s passing. Even months later, they still could not believe it.
After many years of friendship and collaboration, I was unprepared and deeply
hurt to learn about his death in such a shocking way. We had not talked as
much, but we remained very close. Gary was difficult to get ahold of because he
was always on the move. I called his personal number a few times a year, which
I felt was a privilege, but I did not want to bother him too much because of his
busy life and the demands that were on him.
147

It’s hard to say goodbye, but the memories I have
with Gary will live forever in my heart.
148

Our last in-person encounter took place in Croatia in 2015. He wanted to
start helichrysum production and sent me there to scout for contacts. France
produces very good quality helichrysum, but the volume was too limited for
Young Living.
Since his first trip to Croatia 15 years earlier, Gary knew that many Croatian
pickers were fighting a real war to sell as much as possible and were destroying
the wild plants by uprooting them entirely. The phenomenon was so widespread
that the Croatian government even banned wildcrafting to allow wild plants to
go to seed and reproduce, thereby avoiding extinction.
In 2014, the Croatian government originally set a harvesting limit of 45 days
twice a year; but in 2015, the restrictions were revised to 55 days starting in
June. In other words, the scenario of Croatian helichrysum was similar to that of
lavender a century ago.
The atmosphere was a bit tense when I picked Gary up at the airport. I was
shocked and worried by his extreme state of fatigue; he was visibly exhausted.
Still, he was excited about the project and decided to invest in and start a farm
dedicated to helichrysum production.
At the time, Croatians were only wildcrafting, whereas Gary wanted cultivated
production, requiring a certain level of know-how. You cannot simply uproot a
wild plant and replant it in another field. You must prepare the soil and analyze
the pH.
Since helichrysum grows like lavender, we had already mastered the process in
Provence. Therefore, Gary asked me to bring a team of technicians together to
advise him on purchasing the necessary equipment and help in training the local
producers. In the end, the Croatians preferred to organize on their own.
From my last visit with Gary, I remember an exhausted man. I could have told
him to slow down, but he would not have listened. Later, I learned that while
exploring the Amazon in Peru and looking for new plants, he was bitten by an
insect that made him very sick. I was told he had a terrible fever and shortness of
breath, which seemed to cause his heart to act abnormally.
I also learned that he had been in the hospital in the ward for infectious
disease for several days, going from one diagnosis to another, and in the end was
told it was an unknown virus. Based on that, he was released from the hospital
and flew immediately to Highland Flats, where the conifer trees were being
149

harvested. Naturally, it was during the cold, harsh winter, making the situation
worse. Gary was always dousing himself with essential oils but would not take
time to rest and allow his body to heal.
Gary continued to cough with a shortness of breath and never regained his
full strength, and the severity of his heart problems continued to increase over
the next seven years. There were times when he passed out because his heart
would stop for several seconds, which forced him to finally seek medical help.
In a discussion with the cardiologist, the subject of the bite came up, and
after discussing that situation and conducting more tests, the doctor concluded
that Gary had been infected with Chagas, a life-threatening disease that comes
from the bite of an insect prevalent in the Amazon jungle—a disease that attacks
the heart and other internal organs. I was horrified when I read about it on the
internet.
Gary’s condition went undiagnosed for seven years, all the while the damage
to his heart increased. Perhaps he could have been helped with an earlier
diagnosis, but Gary wouldn’t take time to find out what was wrong. He worked
himself to the point of exhaustion; he wouldn’t slow down.
Mary told me that Gary often said he didn’t have much time left, so he had to
work as fast as he could. That was disturbing to hear, but Gary had a knowing
about things. He probably lived 10 lifetimes compared to what most people live
in one.
Gary suffered a lot but never complained. Sometimes he seemed like he
couldn’t keep going. Yet when he started talking about oils or his farms or
teaching others about his discoveries, he came to life with renewed energy. It was
fascinating to watch.
Still today, I am distressed to think that he died in such great pain. Right
to the very end, both physical and psychological pain were his constant
companions. He did not deserve it—he, who always showed empathy and
fought to soothe the pain of others. When you are close to someone, you can
often feel what they feel, and even though we were an ocean apart, I always felt a
longing to be with him, as did the others in his French family.
I know he will always be by my side, putting ideas into my head and now
helping Nicolas as the leader of our French farm. I believe Gary is watching over
his family and Young Living as his legacy moves forward.
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With only a few dollars in the back pocket of his cowboy jeans, Gary built
a strong and beautiful company as the leader in the field of essential oils.
Thanks to his faith and enthusiasm, he moved mountains and propelled
aromatherapy—the knowledge of essential oils—to the forefront of alternative
health and well-being techniques. Hats off to you, Gary.
Thanks to his strong convictions, Gary saved population lavender and helped
Provence retain its title as the lavender capital of the world. Thanks to the
qualities of his heart, he changed my perception of the world and transformed
my life. Without him, I would not have had the professional success I
experienced, and I certainly would never have gone so far.
Many saw how Gary was forced into the business world and many times
put on his hat as a businessman, but he was not particularly comfortable in
that role. Businessmen are often driven by greed with a passion for control and
importance, but Gary was the opposite.
On several occasions during Young Living’s grand conventions, Gary shared
with me about how much he missed the times when he knew the names of his
members and could give each one a big hug. He longed for the time we spent
together building the French farm. He was always happy working on the farm; it
didn’t matter which one, they all brought him joy.
As Young Living grew and expanded the farms, Gary was needed more on the
farms, which made it difficult for him to be in the office. The busy work of the
corporate office interfered with the time he wanted to be on the farms, so he
asked Mary to take the CEO position. That way, she could be the paper-signer
and free him up for all the other things he wanted to do. However, they were so
joined together that he really didn’t escape the office. He was, however, able to
turn a lot of that “busy work” over to Mary.
Gary has now embarked on new adventures, but he left an indelible mark
on the world of aromatherapy and, of course, on me as well. He built the
foundation of Young Living and left behind a great legacy and mission for the
rest of us to carry forward. I am so blessed and honored to have been his partner
but, more importantly, his friend. I think of him often and know that he is
pursuing his mission wherever he is. Someday, I am sure we will meet again.
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Jean-Marie and Benoît flew with me and my family to Utah to honor Gary in his final tribute.
I told Gary that I would never fly to the United States again, as the strain of
the travel was too much for me, and I didn’t like the long flight and the hassle.
However, Jane and I had to be a part of the last tribute to Gary, so we flew to
Utah with Nicolas for this unexpected event.
I was a bit nervous when Mary asked me to speak, as I had not spoken in
English for quite some time; but I am part of the roots of Young Living and
could honor Gary with my knowledge and the friendship we shared. My
remarks at Gary’s funeral can be found in the second edition of Mary’s book,
D. Gary Young, The World-Leader in Essential Oils.
Benoît and Jean-Marie also travelled with us, as they felt the same way I did.
We all wanted to support Mary, knowing how tragic this was for her and their
boys. Mary asked Benoît, Jean-Marie, and Nicolas to be pallbearers, perhaps to
honor them as the great friends they were with Gary, but also to express to the
world Gary’s great love for his French family.
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Benoît and Jean-Marie loved Gary so much that they wanted to share in his Celebration of Life. They were thrilled and
honored when Mary asked them and Nicolas to be pallbearers to take Gary to his final resting place in Tabiona.
It was hard for all of us, and we
shed many silent tears together.
It was a beautiful service, and we
were all rewarded for having been
there. I know it meant so much to
Mary, as it did to all of us. It truly
was a day that will remain a lasting
memory of love and devotion in
our hearts.
I didn’t want to speak, but I wanted to honor Gary and share
the deep feelings and love I have for him and his family and
all that he did for me.
153

154

— XIX —
OUR WIVES, OUR BEDROCK
Now that I have told the story of our friendship and the adventures Gary and
I shared together, I think it is time to pay tribute to our wives and highlight how
much they contributed to our success.
Mary and Gary built Young Living together. When lavender needed to be
planted, she was there. When trees had to be cut in the snow, she was there.
When there was work to be done in the fields, she was there. When the
company needed management, she was there. Mary, a small, slim lady, showed
an incredible strength of character and great commitment.
My wife, Jane, always admired Mary but was less adventurous and often said
that she would not jump into a swimming pool without first checking the depth.
She also likes to take time to reflect before taking action or making a decision.
Gary and Mary loved being at the farm together.
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My wonderful Jane.
I am the one with ants in my
pants, wanting to do things and
go places, and Jane always follows
and supports me.
Jane took care of the family
when I was away and took on
several jobs to earn money. In
Séderon, she ran the shop, cared
for our children, and taught
English in a small school up
in the mountains to which she
walked every day, even when there
was so much snow. If we had not
met and married, I might never
have gone to the United States.
After pregnancy in the midst
of barrels filled with lavender
essential oil, Jane could never stand the smell again, and yet she stayed by my
side and learned about essential oils on the job. A fervent vegetarian since the
age of 18 and a believer in alternative medicine, she constantly encouraged me.
Jane thought of Gary and I as brothers rather than partners, and she accepted
our bond, aware that she would not have the patience to follow Gary’s pace—a
pace that I was one of the few to accept without protest in the beginning.
While she would have preferred working as a dietitian and nutritionist rather
than as a teacher, Jane waited until her 50th birthday, when we had relative
financial stability, to start fulfilling her dream of working in naturopathy. She
resumed her studies, learning from Alain Tessier, an ethnobotanist whom she
hired to give lectures at Savoillan and then Simiane.
Jane also trained with Gary, specifically in Ecuador where she learned the
Raindrop Technique, a method of applying essential oils by dropping the oils
on the back and then working them into the skin with massage. This special
technique is highly praised for its benefits and unusual methods.
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When we left for Simiane, I was
exhausted, but Jane took over and
managed the store alone, giving
as many as seven lectures a day.
I blended oils, while she was the
one advising and selling to clients.
She says that with my character,
I broaden her horizons, and she
allows me to be myself, pursue my
ideas, and feel fulfilled.
Convinced that schooling was
fundamental, Jane encouraged
our daughter, Véréna, to pursue
her studies, while figuring out
how to deal with Nicolas’s
resistance to school. Jane claimed Dressing up wasn’t my favorite thing to do, but Jane
looked beautiful.
to be less passionate than I, but
she remained 100 percent committed to all the projects I gave her. I wish to
thank her for having walked that path with me. It is said that behind every
successful man, there is a strong woman.
That was certainly true for Mary and Gary, as well as for Jane and myself—both
in terms of professional and personal success. Our children are a testimony of our
shared background and values. While Véréna is not a part of Young Living like
Nicolas, I admire and praise my daughter’s exceptional academic career.
I was very proud and thrilled when our first child was such a beautiful baby
girl. We returned to France when she was six months old because I wanted her
to explore and be a part of our family roots by being raised there. Véréna and
Nicolas both grew up surrounded by lavender and many other essential oils as
part of their natural well-being.
For Véréna, Gary was a family friend, a fascinating person who showed up with
luggage full of essential oil vials and exciting stories. She learned his unique way of
using essential oils by placing three drops in her hand, activating them with three
clockwise turns of a finger, and then massaging certain meridian points.
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Christmas memories for my family in 1996 in Fresno, California.
Our family loves the mountains and went skiing every year.
Nicolas was fun-loving, and we never knew
what he was going to do.
Véréna discovered another aspect of Gary when she accompanied me to England
in Young Living’s early days and especially when the whole family went to Utah
for a large convention. She was 14 or 15 then and found herself the focus of
interest. Since Gary introduced Véréna and the rest of the family as very special
people, she was honored to be treated so well and was amazed with the extent of
Gary’s aura and the influence and fascination he triggered in everyone he met.
158

Véréna and Thomas with their two boys, Simon and baby Hugo.
I have always shared with Nicolas a fascination for inventing and
experimenting; a passionate temperament that drives us to go after our dreams.
Véréna, who did not like trade shows and who did not have the same interest in
innovation, could have been jealous of our relationship, but she found her own
way. Bright, hardworking, and focused, she followed in her mother’s footsteps,
who often said that one can always do better than an A+. Today, Véréna has a
PhD in neuroscience and assists doctors with the writing of their research.
Gary often shared with me his admiration for Véréna. He wanted her to take
over his laboratory in Utah; but she never felt ready, and it was a long way
from home. She knew how Gary, Nicolas, and I operated, and she wanted to
contribute something, specifically in terms of science and analysis; but as long
as she did not feel ready, she postponed the offer. Like her mother, she needs to
experiment, to test, and to be sure things work before she goes for it.
Véréna would have liked to join the team made up of me, her mother, and
Nicolas, but with such a high level of self-expectation and her desire to reach the
goals she set for herself, she went in a different direction. She probably wonders
how it might have been had she joined Gary.
159

The Landel family at Christmas in 2021.
Véréna claimed that she was different from me, Gary, and Nicolas, driven
by our intuition. I believe that she could have extensively contributed with her
qualities and skills, but she knows I allow everyone to make their own decisions
and never expected her or Nicolas to follow my wishes, only to follow their own
destiny as they desire.
I believe Véréna inherited this same ability to accept people the way they are
rather than how someone else would like them to be, which I consider a very
noble characteristic.
When she talks about Gary and me, of the relationship we had for almost 30
years, Véréna says that we were constantly enthralled with each other. Today I
marvel at her career. If she ever decides to join Young Living, I know she would
defend and safeguard the innovative spirit, trust, taste for risk, and humanistic
idealism that drove Gary and me. We sowed the seeds, and I know they will
grow sooner or later.
Nicolas is currently the guardian of our heritage, and I hope Véréna will join
him someday. As for Mary and Jane, none of this would have been possible
without them. Gary and I would never have been able to travel and have so
many adventures. Our wives are the anchors that allowed us to transform our
dreams into concrete action, brick by brick.
160

— XX —
NICOLAS CARRIES
OUR HERITAGE
For years I didn’t invite my son, Nicolas, into my work. I wanted him to
enjoy his own experiences, learn how to manage others, and manage himself.
As we all do, he needed time and space to find his own path and define his
mission. He enjoyed and thrived during his graphic design studies and had a
shot at entrepreneurship when he created a graphic design agency with friends.
It was not profitable, but it gave a glimpse of Nicolas’s personality, a person who
succeeded in coming out of his shell to follow his dreams.
At that time, we had a typical father-son relationship in that I was involved but
didn’t want to tell him what to do. I watched and listened and was there if he had
questions, but I wanted him to discover his own skills and find his own way.
After living in the United States for seven months, Nicolas moved back
to France in 2013. I still had many ideas and projects, including marketing
provincial goods and products from our French farm, but I was no longer
willing to give the time it would take to create a new business. So, I started to
involve Nicolas and pass my ideas on to him.
Nicolas grew up surrounded by lavender. He was young, full of energy, made
no apologies, and was perfectly bilingual and bicultural. He inherited my taste
for freedom, curiosity, and entrepreneurship. Rejected at school as I was due
to dyslexia and dysorthographia, he learned to fend for himself and overcome
difficulties.
Nicolas gives his point of view easily and is comfortable in negotiations. I
know his personality will help him develop the farm appropriately and in the
direction Gary and I always wanted to steer it.
I always made a point of making the French farm profitable for it to be selfsufficient
and financially independent from Young Living. When I told Gary
about the French farm product range, he supported me immediately. He wanted
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It makes me so happy to see Nicolas speaking to members around the world about our French farm.
to get Nicolas into the swing of things, so he asked him if he would like to take
care of that part of the business.
Gary had a special fondness for Nicolas. Even though they were not often
together, Gary made special time for him. During each of his visits, he told
Nicolas about his travels and research, which aroused Nicolas’s imagination
with tales of different countries and new products. Because Nicolas is such a
daydreamer, he found Gary particularly fascinating with his unusual stories that
were as big as life and very enticing.
As Young Living grew, it didn’t matter the size, the numbers, the money,
and all that it had become: Gary remained humble, down-to-earth, fun, and
motivating, which would later inspire Nicolas.
When Nicolas went to the United States, Gary gave him a warm welcome
and was happy and enthusiastic to have this next generation, my son, there to
introduce to the Young Living members. Gary invited Nicolas to speak on stage
at conventions to tell the French story—our story—and was always available to
help Nicolas with anything he needed.
When you are lucky enough to have a person like Gary as your friend, you
want to take advantage of his experience and knowledge and especially listen to
his advice. Gary was inspiring as a mentor and encouraged Nicolas to learn and
be a part of the Young Living family. Nicolas did precisely that, almost to the
point of mimicking Gary.
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Nicolas loves teaching the members who come to our farm to learn about how we produce lavender oil.
Nicolas joined Gary and Jacob in London for a Young
Living event.
Everyone knew Gary was the
“big boss,” but he acted like he
was simply one of the gang. He
would share breakfast or lunch
or a brief moment of sitting in
the shade to enjoy a drink of cold
lemonade, and then he would
start telling stories and have
everyone laughing.
For Gary, there was no difference
between farm employees and
business executives. He was ready
to dig a hole for a fence post, dig
a car out of the snow, or change a
flat tire. Whatever the need, Gary
did it. I actually think he was more
comfortable with farm employees
because he always wanted to have
his hands in the dirt.
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Nicolas uses an old-fashioned distiller to demonstrate how essential oils are produced.
Gary was a true showman on stage, with his big personality sharing his
knowledge with anyone who would listen; but he became a real farmer again the
minute there was farming to discuss or a project to accomplish.
Nicolas is very much the same way. Everyone is his equal, his friend. When
Gary made him the manager of the French farm, Nicolas’s personality grew as
a kind leader who leads by example. He understood very well that his role was
to help the farm employees excel in their responsibilities and to act as a link
between them and Young Living.
Nicolas knows he has a lot to learn and that farming requires planning and
knowledge built over years of experience. Like me, Nicolas does not feel the
need to prove himself, nor does he feel the need to copy or surpass me in any
way. It is because of this that we were able to work together as father and son
and celebrate our accomplishments.
When Gary entrusted Nicolas with the opportunity to develop different farm
products, he was very enthusiastic and became involved immediately with a
sense of freedom to explore new ideas and be creative.
Gary and I were accustomed to working directly as a two-person team without
any hierarchical order between us. Gary simply informed those at Young Living
what he was doing and what he needed. Naturally, being the owner had its
advantages, and it worked well in the beginning; but with the growth of the
company, Gary and I more or less outgrew our two-man operation.
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Members learn from Nicolas how to harvest the old-fashioned way.
Young Living has farms around the world, and all of the farm managers have
their own organization. They all work together to help each other in solving
problems and planning their growth. It has been wonderful for Nicolas to have a
lot of responsibility and the support of the other managers, as well as the help of
supporting departments in the corporate office.
For a long time, the French farm in Simiane operated almost as an
independent entity. With only 22.5 hectares (50 acres), it was an experimental
farm. Nicolas had many ideas and wanted to change this. To do so, he needed
to feel he could act independently from me. That is when I decided to step back
and let him manage the farm.
After keeping up with Gary for so many years, I was ready to let Nicolas take
over. Naturally, I would be there to give advice or assist, but I really felt Nicolas
was ready to take this on and grow the farm.
I knew I could always participate with member activities or convention or
any special event, but I was excited about experimenting in the kitchen with
einkorn. After all, I had been a baker many years ago, and now I could have
some fun and perhaps develop some delicious einkorn recipes for Young Living.
Over the last few years, Mary has been gently pushing me to write our history
because few people really know about the Gary Young French connection. She
knew my perspective would be enlightening to our members and give insight to
the new people who join us.
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Nicolas was very happy and rewarded with his innovative idea of putting sheep in the lavender fields to eat the weeds.
On January 1, 2020, Nicolas was appointed as the sole manager of the
Simiane-la-Rotonde farm. He is now developing it and keeping the values and
philosophy Gary and I always had at heart.
After Gary’s passing, the Young Living farms continue to grow with Mary’s
unwavering support. The executive management team understands the
importance of our farms and the advantages that can be found in terms of
oil quality, research, and marketing impact. Members who visit the farms or
participate in the harvest take that excitement back home, which brings greater
awareness of the farms and our mission.
Nicolas is very conscious of his responsibilities. He knows that Gary cannot
be replaced and his legacy and mission will live on in the hearts of our members.
His desire is to continue in Gary’s footsteps, manage the French farm as I did,
and maintain healthy, authentic relationships with the farmers.
Although very impulsive in character, Nicolas has learned to sit back when
needed and put things into perspective. He has a very unique and special
foundation because he was mentored by Gary and me together. He grew up in
166

I really enjoy my retirement, especially when I can just sit on the tractor and still be part of all the fun.
the lavender fields and was a part of all aspects of harvesting and distillation, so
he knows how things should be done.
Nicolas’s creative mind will keep him on a path of innovation, which I am
sure will surprise all of us from time to time. His mother, sister, and I are very
proud of him and his accomplishments.
Being so close to Gary and his vision for so many years and being a part of
Young Living’s success in France has truly been a joy.
Gary loved his French family, and they loved Gary as friends and partners in
the mission of taking essential oils to the world. Their desire has never changed:
to grow strong plants—especially lavender—in the native environment and
utilize the nutrients from the soil with the air and sunshine of Provence to
produce true lavender for the world.
Nicolas is blessed with the continued support of Gary’s much-loved French
family—Jean-Marie Blanc, Benoît Cassan, and Jérôme Reynard—who do their
utmost to keep Gary’s spirit and philosophy alive. I know they will always be
there to support Nicolas, “the little twerp,” as they have lovingly called him since
he was a child, which still puts a smile on his face.
167

Now retired from farming, if I were to give my son some advice, I would tell
him: Follow your heart, stay honest, and don’t get too excited in the face of
success. Stay humble and never forget where you came from, the family that
loves you, and the opportunity Gary gave you. I would remind him of how the
adventure started with the messages from Gary signed “Uncle Gary” to always
be loving and benevolent. Live in the present, acknowledge the past only in
what it can teach, and then leave the rest where it belongs.
I would tell him to cultivate his spirituality because that is the key to putting
things in perspective and taking everything in stride. I would tell him to project
himself into the future to find openings when there is no visible path by putting
people’s interests and well-being before other considerations.
Lastly, I would tell him to continue to be an advocate for the roots of Young
Living to ensure that it remains a company close to the vision of its founders.
I would tell him to be the guardian of quality oils and products, which Gary
succeeded in creating through his faith and unconditional commitment for the
benefits of humanity.
Good luck, my son. Gary and I will always be by your side to guide and
support you as you develop your highest potential on this beautiful path of
human development and the family adventure that Young Living represents.
168

— XXI —
EINKORN RECIPES
Both Gary and I love to cook and had many discussions about recipes and
things we would like to create. Since I turned the farm over to Nicolas, I have
discovered a renewed passion for creating in the kitchen. I wish my creations could
be sold through Young Living, but the logistics of that are simply not possible.
Mary suggested that I put my recipes in this book for those who would like
to experiment and see what this French chef is enjoying and wanting to share.
These recipes came out of my love for cooking, which perhaps started when I
was in the United States working in the bakery.
Gary was excited when we ground the first einkorn berries into flour. He
made einkorn pancakes and waffles, which he often made a little exotic with
fruits and jams. Gary and I had so many cooking ideas, and we were always
experimenting with einkorn to see what we could discover.
I really enjoy being in the kitchen and am excited to be back there at home.
Since I’m having so much fun, I decided that you might like to have some
fun too. Try adding einkorn to your own cooking and get a feel for what Gary
and I enjoyed creating together many years ago when the discovery of einkorn
came to life.
169

“Poor Man” Einkorn Soup
Blondy’s Grandmother’s Recipe
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
• 8½ cups (2 liters) cold water
• 1¾ cups (300 grams) whole einkorn berries
• 1 leek
• 1 onion
• 1 stalk celery
• Some white beans
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 sausages
Directions:
1. Add cold water to a pot and add the einkorn berries,
vegetables (uncut), and beans.
2. Add salt and pepper to flavor.
3. Cook on very low heat for a minimum of 2 hours.
4. Cook the sausages separately, and then add them to the einkorn
vegetable pot about 1 hour before the end of cooking.
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Einkorn Cookies
Makes 30 cookies
Ingredients:
• ¾ cup (180 grams) butter
• Essential oil of choice such as Thieves, Cinnamon Bark, Slique
Essence, Lavender, or Lemon
• ⅔ cup (140 grams) xylitol or sweetener of choice such as yacon,
stevia, agave, cane powder, or coconut sugar*
• ½–¾ cup (70 grams) liquid honey
• 4 egg yolks
• ½ teaspoon (3 grams) salt
• 3¼ cups (500 grams) einkorn flour
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° (180° ).
2. Melt the butter at a low temperature.
3. Add 3–4 drops of your favorite essential oil.
4. Mix the butter with your sweetener of choice, then mix in the
honey, egg yolks, and salt.
5. Add the einkorn flour and knead to form a dough.
6. Roll the dough ¼ inch (½ centimeter) thick and cut out
with a cookie cutter.
7. Bake for 10–12 minutes. Bon appétit!
* Xylitol is a natural birch sweetener with a very low glycemic index.
Add according to your desired sweetness.
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Einkorn Sourdough Starter
This recipe is very simple. There are only four ingredients—einkorn flour, spring
or purified water, apple cider vinegar, and honey—and a week of activation.
Day 1
Mix ingredients in an open jar at
room temperature:
2 tablespoons (20 grams) einkorn
flour
2 teaspoons (10 grams) spring water
1 tablespoon (20 grams) honey
Cover the jar with a cotton cloth.
Day 2
Add and mix:
¼ cup (40 grams) einkorn flour
2½ tablespoons (35 grams)
spring water
Day 3
Add and mix:
½ cup (80 grams) einkorn flour
⅓ cup (70 grams) spring water
Day 5
It is customary to discard part of
the sourdough starter before
adding it to the mixture.
Discard 1 cup (200 grams) of
the sourdough starter.
Add and mix:
⅔ cup (100 grams) einkorn flour
⅓ cup (90 grams) spring water
1 tablespoon (20 grams) honey
The sourdough should double in
volume in 12 hours, with a lot of
bubbles foaming in the dough.
Keep refrigerated.
Day 4
Add and mix:
1 cup (160 grams) einkorn flour
¾ cup (140 grams) spring water
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Einkorn Sourdough Bread
Makes 4 loaves
Ingredients:
• 8 cups (1 kilogram) einkorn flour, germinated
• 2.5 cups (600 grams) spring water
• 1 cup (200 grams) homemade sourdough starter
• 3 teaspoons (18 grams) salt
Directions:
1. Knead the einkorn flour, water, and sourdough starter
slowly for 3 minutes.
2. Add salt and knead again for 7 minutes.
3. Separate dough into four loaves and shape in baking pans.
Because einkorn is very low in gluten, it needs to be cooked in a
pan to give it shape, otherwise it will be very flat.
4. Let loaves rise for 24 hours in a cool environment, 60° (15°) maximum.
5. Bake at 350° (170°) for 45 minutes.
The biggest difference between the bread of antiquity and the bread of today
is the leavening, or how it rises. Sourdough is not made with baker’s yeast. It
consists of a complex microbial flora, lactic acid, bacteria, yeasts, and even mold
and totally depends on the local environment (the climate and temperature)
where it is made.
Sourdough transforms flour, water, and salt into a nourishing substance.
Fermentation is slower than using baker’s yeast and requires 24 to 30 hours
compared to the fast 4 to 6 hours of yeast. Fermentation reduces the gluten
and phytic acid, or antinutrient as it is often called. Phytic acid inhibits the
absorption of minerals such as iron, zinc, and magnesium, thus reducing
the nutrient content of the bread, which reduces digestive problems and
intolerances.
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Mary told me that the first time she and Gary made bread with einkorn,
Gary left to go to the farm. When the bread came out of the oven, it was
hard as a rock. There was a lot of laughter when Gary came home, and so the
experimenting began. At that time, the challenge was figuring out the ratios of
the ingredients, but now many have done that experimentation and made it easy
for everyone else.
As Gary said, “The ancient grain of einkorn is the true staff of life,
unadulterated from its structure as created by God.” Many people are learning
to cook with einkorn as they realize its great value. As you learn to cook with
it, I’m sure you’ll love the taste and be grateful for its benefits. Enjoy your new
adventure in cooking and keep spreading the word about this amazing grain.
174

Young Living Essential Oils. Jean-Noël is responsible for introducing Gary into
the closed circle of lavender producers in Provence, France, where no foreigner had
found an invitation.
Jean-Noël’s reputation and Gary’s friendly and sincere personality eventually
and trust of the French lavender producers, and they became what he called his
the processes of growing, cultivating, and harvesting. Most importantly, they taught
Gary the art of distillation.
discovery, innovation, and entrepreneurship. When he and Gary met in 1990, they
had an immediate connection. It was the beginning of a friendship that deepened
through the years and lasted a lifetime.
Jean-Noël was at the root of Gary’s search to discover the mysteries of French
lavender, and he brings an inside view into the beginning of Young Living in France.
into the ethics, beliefs, and life of D. Gary Young.
love for his friend Gary Young and dedication to the mission of Young Living
warms the heart.
live on into a great future with Jean-Noël’s son, Nicolas Landel, who now carries the
torch and welcomes all who visit.
© Copyright 2022, Young Living Essential Oils, Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND. The author and copyright holder desire that
the stories and information contained within this book be shared as widely as possible and thus permit the reproduction of this
book partially or in full so long as any reproduction attributes the original author and copyright holder, is for non-commercia l
purposes, is not modified from the original, is not done in such a way that the author or the copyright holder appears to be
endorsing the reproducing party, and includes these copyright and creative commons notices.
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USA