Kirkus Review

FINDING MIRACLES

ESCAPE FROM A CULT

BY ANDREW LECOMPTE ‧ RELEASE DATE: January 30, 2024

A poignant exploration of the psychological manipulation used by cults.

LeCompte, a former cult member, explores the coercive power of such groups in this debut memoir.

The author was not only a member of a cult for years—he also served as the editor for the organization’s “central book,” Awakening Through A Course in Miracles (2009). That book was based on the ideas found in the 1976 New Age classic A Course in Miracles (ACIM), a controversial publication that a pair of Columbia University psychologists, Helen Schucman and William Thetford, allegedly transcribed from the voice of Jesus Christ himself, which Schucman claimed to have heard in her mind. Despite having his own advanced degree in psychology and a successful publication on fostering human relationships, LeCompte was drawn to the theories outlined in ACIM in the early 2000s and gradually acquainted himself with a teacher, David Hoffmeister, within the movement. What began as a spiritual interest and lessons from a spiritual guru evolved, per the author, into a manipulative relationship that drove a wedge between LeCompte and his wife. By 2011, the author had abandoned his family and friends, sold his possessions, and moved thousands of miles away to an ACIM compound in Utah, where he edited books and videos produced by the group. Six “grueling” years later, he left the organization as a penniless outcast, having given its ministry more than $200,000, in addition to his free labor. At fewer than 250 pages, this is an accessible book that serves as a vehicle for LeCompte to recount his harrowing psychological journey into (and then out of) a cult and as a guidebook for those who fear their loved ones are being drawn into a manipulative sect. The book concludes with practical advice for “Getting Your Friend or Family Member Out of a Cult” and a list of cult-recovery resources.

A poignant exploration of the psychological manipulation used by cults.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2024

Review Program: KIRKUS INDIE

Categories:

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | SURVIVORS & ADVENTURERS | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR