The Oracle's Daughter: The Rise and Fall of an American Cult, (Paperback)

<b>"Terrifying, gripping, all true. I couldn't put it down." <b><i>--</i>Stephen King</b> <p> "Excellent...told with rare sensitivity...Hill is an extremely skilled writer, and his conscientious, measured reporting is a gift...The immediacy with which Hill portrays [his subjects'] conflicted longings gives the book the propulsive feel of a novel." <b><i>--The New York Times Book Review</i></b> </p></b><p><b> <b>A "deeply compelling" (<i>Booklist</i>) chronicle of the rise and fall of a woman-led cult--and the enduring allure of extremism across America's turbulent religious history.</b></b> </p><p>On a cool fall night in 1999, twenty-six-year-old Sarah Green crept out of her house, retrieved a backpack from its hiding place, and ran for her life. She was escaping not just the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, a paramilitary religious cult based in the New Mexico desert, but also the cruelty of the cult's leader--her mother, Deborah. </p><p> In this "incredible new book" (<i>CrimeReads</i>), Harrison Hill traces the "extraordinary" twists and turns (NPR) of the group's development, from its early days as an outgrowth of the 1960s counterculture, through its descent into conspiracy-fueled abuse, to the explosive trial that would lead to its downfall. <i>The Oracle's Daughter</i> is the story of three women--Deborah, the group's founder and self-proclaimed oracle; Maura, one of its first members; and Sarah, Deborah's daughter--bound together by a punitive, baroque set of radical beliefs and practices, including exorcism, kidnapping, and the horrific mistreatment of those who fell out of the leaders' favor. </p><p> Though ACMTC was radical in its beliefs and deprivations, its history provides a window into the broader sweep of American faith. <i>The Oracle's Daughter </i>also explores the fascinating world of cults--and gives "a bracing sense of how mainstream the fringe can get" (<i>Oprah Daily</i>).</p>

• The Oracle's Daughter: The Rise and Fall of an American Cult, (Paperback)
• Author: Harrison Hill
• ISBN: 9781668018880
• Format: Paperback
• Publication Date: 2027-04-20
• Page Count: 352