A year after the book was published, Williamson (who was experiencing confusion about God and wondering why He allowed so much pain in the world) was at a party in New York and picked up a copy of "A Course in Miracles" from a coffee table. She dismissed the book because, being Jewish, she was put off by its Christian terminology. Williamson then moved to San Francisco. While there, she developed an interest in spirituality, metaphysics, and meditation. She began reading the "Course" "passionately" and doing its 365 daily exercises. She also reconciled it with her Jewishness; in her view, "A conversion to Christ is not a conversion to Christianity. It is a conversion to a conviction of the heart. The Messiah is not a person but a point of view".