What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise. – Oscar Wilde
Gail Hamilton is a public speaker, singer, musician, and author. She shares her message of bravery, empowerment, gratitude, and positivity to audiences nationwide.
Born ten weeks premature and weighing a mere 2.5 pounds, Gail Hamilton and her twin brother lived in separate incubators for six weeks with continual 100% pure oxygen. Though her twin was not affected, this high oxygen level damaged Gail’s eyes and left her with partial vision. It was during elementary school that her eyes developed cataracts; decreasing sight to total blindness.
Becoming totally blind is when Gail’s imaginary and spiritual inner vision took flight. During this time of transformation, classical music became the
center of her world.
It was also during this time she experienced enormous other personal challenges in her life. Her parents drank, she was verbally discounted, teased, and physically beaten by her brothers, including one who sexually abused her.
In High School Gail discovered her passion for singing and continued with piano. Fun fact: Gail has taught piano lessons for nearly 40 years! She graduated college with a degree in Voice, and then obtained her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance and Master of Arts degree in Transpersonal Psychology.
Gail credits her voice teacher Margaret Thuenemann as being the first person she met who viewed her as a singer who happened to be blind, and not as a blind singer. This new perspective intensified her longing to spread her wings.
After college Gail moved to Colorado. While the next 25 years would prove to be tornadic in her life personally, she received valuable psychotherapy which helped her to begin her most meaningful life transformation, “…believing that my desire to fly must be bigger than my fear of falling”, she says.
Gail changed from being a victim of her own circumstances to becoming the creator of her destiny. She stopped blaming and start taking responsibility, and aligned totally with faith, attitude, and action.
Gail has remained strong and unstoppable. She has contributed to the building of her own Habitat for Humanity house, written and published a memoir (Soaring into Greatness, a Blind Woman’s Vision to Live her Dreams and Fly), and become Ms. Colorado Senior America (2013) and Fourth Runner-Up in the National Ms. Senior America Pageant. Gail is co-author of Speaking Your Truth, a Woman’s Anthology, Volume Three and Modern Day Miracles by Louise Hay.
Gail’s professional musical experience includes having sung on a national level a repertoire of both concert and operatic music; sung the leading role as “Mimi” in La Boheme and “Violetta” in La Traviata.
These days Gail’s dreams are to share her experiences and knowledge through speaking, and to live a life of greatness every day, including, of course, continuing to ‘soar’.
Download Gail Hamilton’s Summary PDF here.
Purchase Soaring into Greatness book by Gail Hamilton here.