Short biographyFor episode notes and event listings
Richard A. Kiers is a Canadian author, cult survivor, advocate, speaker, and podcast guest. His writing explores coercive control, institutional silence, child protection, resilience, and the choices that shape a life. His published memoir, Swindled by Faith, recounts his childhood inside the Move of God and his journey toward reconciliation. His current nonfiction manuscript, Silent Voices, brings survivor experiences and long-unheard stories into the public conversation.
Full biographyFor profiles and extended introductions
Richard A. Kiers is a Canadian author, cult survivor, advocate, public speaker, and podcast guest whose work examines coercive control, institutional silence, child protection, resilience, and human courage.
When Richard was ten years old, his family joined the Move of God, a religious movement founded by Sam Fife. At twelve, he moved with his family to a communal farm near Fort St. John, British Columbia. He remained within that world until 1976. Years later, he drew on those experiences to write Swindled by Faith: A Time for Reconciliation, a memoir about belief, control, survival, and the difficult road toward understanding.
Richard's current nonfiction manuscript, Silent Voices, broadens the conversation beyond his own story. It examines high-control leadership, the silencing of children and survivors, entrusted authority, institutional accountability, and the lasting consequences when people are never given a safe opportunity to speak.
His writing also extends into social commentary, suspense, and historical fiction. Across genres, Richard is interested in what happens when ordinary people confront forces larger than themselves, and what courage, truth, and responsibility require of us.
