How Walking Thousands of Miles for Peace Led to Uncovering Some of America's Darkest Nuclear Secrets
Jim Patrick Thomas is an Atomic Pilgrim. His memoir starts off on an astounding 6,700-mile pilgrimage in a bid to end the nuclear arms race. Much like a hunger strike or non violent sit-in, this singular and exceedingly difficult feat began at a nuclear submarine base in Washington state and spanned nine countries to get to Bethlehem.
Atomic Pilgrim (Latah Books, 7/16/25), is a new memoir by author, peace activist, and longtime member of Pax Christi's nuclear disarmament group. Jim reveals a topical truth: sustained conviction can confront entrenched systems of violence. Here is a take away for all Americans who yearn to know, “what do I do?”
Jim’s decades-long effort to expose the toxic legacy—the environmental and human costs—of the Hanford plutonium site, a key Manhattan Project facility and the source of the plutonium used in the bomb dropped on Nagasaki is particularly notable in that he created a great reckoning as a passionate citizen without a science degree.
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I've never understood how someone or some people, could go backpacking or running or hiking to bring attention to something not quite right in the world. Jim shows us how.
Atomic Pilgrim is part memoir, part soul-searching road trip—both internal and external. It’s about what happens when the faith you were raised with doesn’t hold up anymore, and you're left trying to piece together something real from the fallout.
James Patrick Thomas grew up fully immersed in Christianity, but when the cracks started to show, he didn’t walk away with anger—he walked away with questions. Big ones. About God, science, history, meaning, and whether anything truly sacred can survive once certainty is gone.
Instead of offering neat answers, the book takes you along as he wanders through doubt, awe, grief, and wonder. He reflects on everything from atomic bombs to ancient mystics, from childhood memories to cosmic mysteries. It's quiet, poetic, and sometimes raw—but never preachy.
If you've ever gone through a spiritual shift, felt stuck between belief and disbelief, or just wanted to make peace with not having it all figured out, Atomic Pilgrim will feel like sitting with a friend who gets it.
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While serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Jim began advocating for nuclear disarmament as a member of the Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage (1982-1983), a 6700-mile walk across the United States and nine other countries.
He spent the next quarter-century investigating radioactive pollution from the production and testing of nuclear weapons, mostly focused on the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State.
Throughout his Hanford involvement, Jim advocated for the downwinders, people exposed to harmful radiation releases. He organized a national coalition that forced the federal government to close Hanford's plutonium operations in 1990, served on several federal advisory committees concerning radiation health effects, and worked for ten years as a paralegal for the plaintiffs in the Hanford downwinders litigation.
Jim directed life, justice and peace ministry for the Diocese of Spokane (1984-1987), the Archdiocese of Seattle (2007-2015), and the Washington State Catholic Conference (2015-2020).
He has a master's in religious studies from Gonzaga University. His thesis examined the immorality of nuclear deterrence.
He has visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki twice - in 1993 he spoke at an international conference on plutonium processing and in 2023 he accompanied Archbishops Paul Etienne and John Wester on their Pilgrimage of Peace.
Jim is the author of Atomic Pilgrim (forthcoming July 2025), a memoir of the Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage and his involvement on Hanford issues. He continues to work for peace and nuclear disarmament with local and national organizations. Jim and his wife Jan live in Seattle.
Jim Thomas is a peacemaking miracle. He walks a way of peace that can turn humanity from extinction to life. Read him and believe in miracles for us all." James Douglass, author of JFK and the Unspeakable
"A passionate memoir by an anti-nuclear activist and committed patriot." Gregg Herken, author of Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller
"Atomic Pilgrim tells the remarkable story of a life lived in the service of nuclear disarmament. Spanning thousands of miles and decades of research and advocacy, Jim Thomas's message is at once hopeful and haunting: Peace is more than a dream. It is a necessity." Shannon Cram, PhD, author of Unmaking the Bomb: Environmental Cleanup and the Politics of Impossibility
"During these chaotic times, when we so desperately need to identify our heroes, this book will give you new and important perspectives." Teri Hein, author of Atomic Farmgirl: Growing Up Right in the Wrong Place
"This is a wonderful hope-inspiring book! A tonic for sagging spirits in these dark days." Shelley Douglass, co-founder of the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
"Atomic Pilgrim is both a journey of public witness but also one of examination of the soul.... Inspiring - Informative - Impactful." Charlene Howard, Executive Director, Pax Christi USA
