GRAY, Ga. — Ruth Hayes was born on April 5, 1929 in New Jersey. Hayes says both of her parents were house workers and moved around often.
"Sometimes, I would stay with my uncle, but it was up to me. Basically, I did what I wanted to do," Hayes said.
Hayes described her life as special. She had two kids by the time she was 15, was married twice, and dropped out of high school.
Her life didn't take the traditional route.
"I went to a beautician, then I went back and got my high school degree and then I went to college to get my undergraduate so me and my kids could go together and finish school," Hayes said.
Hayes found the motivation to continue with her education and got her graduate and doctorate in education. Her teaching career took off when she was almost 40, teaching seventh and eighth grade for 30 years.
20 years ago, Hayes moved to Jones County and started volunteering at an adult night class. But one year ago, she decided to tell everyone her story in her autobiography 'If I Can, You Can.'
"It's about if you can do something, whatever you want to do. If I can do it, and I didn't have a home and I lived with other people," Hayes said.
Evelyn Hill met Hayes ten years ago when she was looking for volunteers to help with the adult night class that she was teaching. She thought Hayes writing an autobiography was a good idea.
"At her age to write a book and just being around her and knowing her history, it was exciting to see that she wanted to share how she came up," Hill said.
At 94-years-old, Hayes says "All through my life God was there. All through my life God is there," and she never felt the urge to quit.
She hopes to write another book again in the future.
You can buy the book online at Target, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.