Marianne Williamson: Self-Help Guru to Presidential Run

Marianne Williamson spent her twenties lost, living in a geodesic dome, singing in cabarets, and battling profound depression before a self-study curriculum called A Course in Miracles gave her a new philosophy. She went on to found major charities, sell millions of books as Oprah's go-to spiritual advisor, and run for president.This deep dive tracks her wild evolution as a case study in how the American self-help movement merged with modern political activism, following the consistent thread that connects the cabaret singer to the presidential candidate.Her activist upbringing, including her father taking the family to Vietnam to show the war's costHer wasted decade, nervous breakdown, and discovery of A Course in Miracles as spiritual psychotherapyHer AIDS-era charity work with the Center for Living and Project Angel FoodHer presidential platform, including reparations, a Department of Peace, and dark psychic force rhetoricThe controversies over her management style and her statements on medicine and depression