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Finding Miracles: Escape from a Cult
A compelling and powerful account of the abuse and trauma experienced by Andrew LeCompte during his time in a spiritual community, based on the massively popular self-study book A Course in Miracles.
"This book is at once a personal journey toward love and a warning to others. A must read!" - Sarah Edmondson, author of The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, The Cult That Bound My Life
“This gripping memoir demonstrates how an intelligent man can be gradually seduced by a cult.” - Dr. Steven Hassan, one of America's leading cult experts, Director of Freedomofmind.com
"A poignant exploration of the psychological manipulation used by cults." - Kirkus Review
A lack of love in an authoritarian household sparked Andrew’s lifelong search for love and belonging. His AA sponsor introduced him to A Course in Miracles, which Andrew studied deeply for twenty years. Then a celebrated spiritual teacher invited him to edit his first book and join his community. Andrew had been led to believe that he was chosen to find the Love of God. After a heart-rending parting from his family, he moved to Utah and joined the community.
He had some amazing early experiences while teaching the Course in Mexico, Spain, Hawaii, and Canada, some of them leading him to believe he that he was indeed finding the Love of God. But after six years of mistreatment, being coerced out of over $200,000, and emotional manipulation, Andrew found no real love, and certainly no miracles there.
When he believed that he had burned all his bridges, a loving message from his son helped Andrew to escape the cult and begin recovery. Tragically, he found his son dead on the floor a few years later. Andrew went through intense but highly effective mental health programs and emerged finally free of cultic mind control.
Ironically, he then experienced a miracle that brought him the love and happiness he hoped for.
This is a must-read first-hand account of a cult survivor who escaped a phony spiritual program, based on a movement that has drawn millions of practitioners into its grasp.
"This book is at once a personal journey toward love and a warning to others. A must read!" - Sarah Edmondson, author of The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, The Cult That Bound My Life
“This gripping memoir demonstrates how an intelligent man can be gradually seduced by a cult.” - Dr. Steven Hassan, one of America's leading cult experts, Director of Freedomofmind.com
"A poignant exploration of the psychological manipulation used by cults." - Kirkus Review
A lack of love in an authoritarian household sparked Andrew’s lifelong search for love and belonging. His AA sponsor introduced him to A Course in Miracles, which Andrew studied deeply for twenty years. Then a celebrated spiritual teacher invited him to edit his first book and join his community. Andrew had been led to believe that he was chosen to find the Love of God. After a heart-rending parting from his family, he moved to Utah and joined the community.
He had some amazing early experiences while teaching the Course in Mexico, Spain, Hawaii, and Canada, some of them leading him to believe he that he was indeed finding the Love of God. But after six years of mistreatment, being coerced out of over $200,000, and emotional manipulation, Andrew found no real love, and certainly no miracles there.
When he believed that he had burned all his bridges, a loving message from his son helped Andrew to escape the cult and begin recovery. Tragically, he found his son dead on the floor a few years later. Andrew went through intense but highly effective mental health programs and emerged finally free of cultic mind control.
Ironically, he then experienced a miracle that brought him the love and happiness he hoped for.
This is a must-read first-hand account of a cult survivor who escaped a phony spiritual program, based on a movement that has drawn millions of practitioners into its grasp.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 30, 2024
8 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Andrew LeCompte
4 books2 followersAndrew LeCompte is an author, counselor, and teacher dedicated to helping people live more authentically and create truly harmonious relationships.
With a Master’s degree in Humanistic Psychology, he developed a practical method of empathic communication that he has taught in schools, hospitals, universities, and international corporations. His first book, Creating Harmonious Relationships, sold over 5,000 copies and has now returned in Spanish as Creando Relaciones Armoniosas: Una Guía Práctica para el Poder de la Verdadera Empatía.
Years later, he published his second book, Finding Miracles: Escape from a Cult—the testimony of his experience in a harmful spiritual community and the journey of resilience and healing that led him to regain his freedom.
Two sides of his work: practical tools for better communication, and an inspiring story of recovery and personal growth.
With a Master’s degree in Humanistic Psychology, he developed a practical method of empathic communication that he has taught in schools, hospitals, universities, and international corporations. His first book, Creating Harmonious Relationships, sold over 5,000 copies and has now returned in Spanish as Creando Relaciones Armoniosas: Una Guía Práctica para el Poder de la Verdadera Empatía.
Years later, he published his second book, Finding Miracles: Escape from a Cult—the testimony of his experience in a harmful spiritual community and the journey of resilience and healing that led him to regain his freedom.
Two sides of his work: practical tools for better communication, and an inspiring story of recovery and personal growth.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 8, 2024
engaging and well written
his experience is that of a true cult member who idolizes a leader who uses your sacred beliefs to trap you
his experience is that of a true cult member who idolizes a leader who uses your sacred beliefs to trap you
July 22, 2025
A Raw, Courageous Memoir That Lingers Long After the Final Page
Finding Miracles is not just a memoir — it’s a survivor’s roadmap, a spiritual reckoning, and a piercing exploration of how the search for love and meaning can lead even the most intelligent minds into dangerous territory.
Andrew LeCompte’s writing is clear, unflinching, and deeply human. He doesn’t flail for sympathy or dramatize events for effect — instead, he invites you into his heart, allowing readers to witness the subtle emotional entrapment, the unraveling of identity, and ultimately the painful—but liberating—escape from a life built on spiritual illusion.
What struck me most was the grace with which he writes about loss. His reflections on family, particularly his son, are so tender they almost ache. And just when you think there’s no light left, he brings you to a miracle — not loud or cinematic, but quiet, earned, and deeply moving.
This is a book for:
Anyone who has ever doubted their path
Those recovering from manipulative systems (spiritual or otherwise)
And those simply looking for a reminder that truth and love survive even the darkest deceptions
Bravo, Andrew. Your vulnerability is your superpower.
Finding Miracles is not just a memoir — it’s a survivor’s roadmap, a spiritual reckoning, and a piercing exploration of how the search for love and meaning can lead even the most intelligent minds into dangerous territory.
Andrew LeCompte’s writing is clear, unflinching, and deeply human. He doesn’t flail for sympathy or dramatize events for effect — instead, he invites you into his heart, allowing readers to witness the subtle emotional entrapment, the unraveling of identity, and ultimately the painful—but liberating—escape from a life built on spiritual illusion.
What struck me most was the grace with which he writes about loss. His reflections on family, particularly his son, are so tender they almost ache. And just when you think there’s no light left, he brings you to a miracle — not loud or cinematic, but quiet, earned, and deeply moving.
This is a book for:
Anyone who has ever doubted their path
Those recovering from manipulative systems (spiritual or otherwise)
And those simply looking for a reminder that truth and love survive even the darkest deceptions
Bravo, Andrew. Your vulnerability is your superpower.
April 16, 2025
My visceral reaction on being taken by colleagues to introductory meetings of cults -- est, Scientology -- has been "I want to get out of here, NOW" -- though I have been polite enough to sit around, flight instinct repeatedly aroused, till the meeting ended, and so i have learned more than I might have otherwise.
Disclaimer: I know Andrew LeCompte personally, through my church. It is a mystery to me, knowing him now, how he could become entangled in a cult, but here is his story and he tells it with pinpoint detail. Central message: cult leaders, narcissists, cut people off from the wider world in order to inflate their own sense of centrality. It is a vitally important lesson for our time.
Disclaimer: I know Andrew LeCompte personally, through my church. It is a mystery to me, knowing him now, how he could become entangled in a cult, but here is his story and he tells it with pinpoint detail. Central message: cult leaders, narcissists, cut people off from the wider world in order to inflate their own sense of centrality. It is a vitally important lesson for our time.
March 21, 2025
Community or cult?
What a difficult memoir to write. So honest and begging all kinds of judgments from people who say I would never be fooled into joining a cult. But those of us who are drawn to community may find that there is a little cult in every community. There’s potential for abuse, misuse, misdirection and madness. Worshipping a man, my words not the author’s never ends well…
What a difficult memoir to write. So honest and begging all kinds of judgments from people who say I would never be fooled into joining a cult. But those of us who are drawn to community may find that there is a little cult in every community. There’s potential for abuse, misuse, misdirection and madness. Worshipping a man, my words not the author’s never ends well…
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews