On January 2, 1873, Zélie Guérin, married to Louis Martin, gave birth to their ninth child, Marie-Francoise-Thérése. Four of their nine children had already died young and even Thérése's first years showed a fragile child. She was to get used to suffering almost from the beginning. By her own account, she enjoyed a very happy childhood, and at the age of fifteen she entered the Carmel in Lisieux, Normandy, fulfilling a childhood desire to give herself completely to God. She died nine years later at the age of twenty-four. Who would have guessed that one so young and so hidden for most of her life, would have such a big impact on the world? And yet this young Carmelite has already had over nine hundred biographies written about her, and her three texts, collectively known as Histoire d'une áme (Story of a Soul), have been translated into many languages. They were first published a year after her death and became a best-seller almost immediately. In these short texts, along with 226 letters, some poems, plays, prayers, and 'last conversations' recorded by her Sisters, Thérése reveals herself as a woman deeply in love with God, very mature for her age, and with a great understanding of the human person. Although her 'sugary' style of writing does not appeal to many today, the wrapping is often mistaken for what is inside. With a little patience one soon begins to recognise the profound insights that God granted her, with regards the way of holiness, the need for love at the heart of the Church, the problem of suffering and the need to persevere. God taught her what has become known as the 'little way' of spiritual childhood. The beauty of this is that it makes the way of holiness both very simple and very appealing. It is for everyone, without exception. It gets away from all complications, special methods, or practices, sometimes associated with the way of holiness. It is the way, which is for everyone. The little way is not something totally new, in the sense that it is simply the message of the Gospel, yet it has a new freshness about it, which is attractive.