Where the Light Begins

In Where the Light Begins: A Seeker’s Journey for Truth, Freedom and a Place to Call Home, Cristy Elmendorp shares an intimate account of her extraordinary life journey. The daughter of a missionary who once belonged to a controversial Christian cult called “The Children of God”, her father would often tell her that she was ‘born in the heat of the revolution’.

Through the many twists and turns of her life, including her quest to free her mind from the brainwashing of a cult, a tangled relationship with a Tibetan Buddhist scholar to her unexpected career in starting a high-end travel company, Cristy finds the courage to remain open to the great mystery of the unknown. It is this openness that leads her to find the answers she was searching for in the most unexpected place.

A memoir of self-discovery, adventure, and spirituality interwoven in an epic coming-of-age story, Cristy, takes the reader on a journey throughout Southeast Asia and the Himalayas, among others, as she sets out to find her place in the world.