However, the text was written by Helen Schucman (deceased) and William Thetford; Schucman said the material in the book is based on communications with her from an "inner voice" who she believed was Jesus. The original version of the book was published in 1976, the revised edition was published in 1996. The content includes a teaching manual and a student workbook. Since its first publication, the book has sold several million copies with translations into nearly two dozen languages.

The book's origins date back to the early 1970s; Helen Schucman's early experiences with the "inner voice" led her supervisor at the time, William Thetford, to contact Hugh Cayce of the Association for Research and Enlightenment. On the other hand, she introduced herself to Kenneth Wapnick (the book's later editor). At the time of the show, Wapnick was a clinical psychologist.

After the meeting, Schucman and Wapnik spent more than a year editing and revising the material. Another introduction, this time from Schucman, Wapnik and Thetford to Robert Skutch and Judith Skutch Whitson of the Inner Peace Foundation. The first copies of the book intended for distribution were in 1975. Copyright lawsuits by the Foundation for Inner Peace and Penguin Books have since established that the contents of the first edition are in the public domain.

a course in miracles is a learning device; The course consists of 3 books, a 622-page text, a 478-page student workbook, and an 88-page teacher's manual. The materials can be studied in the order chosen by the reader. The course content of A Course in Miracles focuses on both theoretical and practical aspects, although the emphasis is on the application of the book's material.

The text is primarily theoretical and is the basis for the workbook's lessons, which are practical applications. The workbook has 365 lessons, one for each day of the year, although it is not necessary to do it at the pace of one lesson per day. Perhaps more like the workbooks that the average reader is familiar with from previous experience, you are asked to use the material as directed.