Thursday, July 10, 2025

ATOMIC PILGRIM by James Patrick Thomas BOOK REVIEW

How Walking Thousands of Miles for Peace Led to Uncovering Some of America's Darkest Nuclear Secrets

Jim Patrick Thomas is an Atomic PilgrimHis 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.  

***

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. 

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.

***

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

Monday, July 7, 2025

What are the odds that I'm reading these 3 books over Independence Day weekend?

 



There is much that brings these 3 books together for reading this week, though I had no idea it was happening. I glanced at my TBR to see what was on top to read, and it was these 3. 
They're set during wars, global upheaval and characters that find the strength to keep moving forward, even under extreme duress. Whether it's being a 'spy' who finds a love of cooking, or a man who walks thousands of miles to find answers or a whole nation trying to find a home, it all comes down to the strength of will and character. 
There is something we can learn from each book, each character, each era. Be strong. Keep moving forward. You will find where you belong. 






Thursday, July 13, 2023

Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry REVIEW


Opening: 
"George Meets A Lion"
December 1950
Worcestershire, England

George Henry Devonshire is only eight years old and he already knows the truth." 

This was a book from my bookclub. 
I loved this story. I loved learning more about C.S. Lewis and his brother, which was in paralleled the relationship of George and his sister, Megs.  It is a sweet story about relationships in families. 



“Where did Narnia come from?”

The answer will change everything.

Megs Devonshire is brilliant with numbers and equations, on a scholarship at Oxford, and dreams of solving the greatest mysteries of physics.

She prefers the dependability of facts—except for one: the younger brother she loves with all her heart doesn’t have long to live. When George becomes captivated by a copy of a brand-new book called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and begs her to find out where Narnia came from, there’s no way she can refuse.

Despite her timidity about approaching the famous author, Megs soon finds herself taking tea with the Oxford don and his own brother, imploring them for answers. What she receives instead are more stories . . . stories of Jack Lewis’s life, which she takes home to George.

Why won’t Mr. Lewis just tell her plainly what George wants to know? The answer will reveal to Meg many truths that science and math cannot, and the gift she thought she was giving to her brother—the story behind Narnia—turns out to be his gift to her, instead: hope.





Thursday, July 6, 2023

A Seperate Peace by John Knowles

Opening:

"I went back to Devon School not long ago, and found it looking oddly newer than when I was a student there 15 years ago." 

I listened to this book after reading Once Upon a Wardrobe. The book was mentioned and since I enjoyed that book, I thought I'd give Separate Peace a go. 

A classic coming-of-age story about boys at a prep school. It's about the popular boy who instigates crazy shenanigans and pulls everyone into the whirlwind with him. 

The popular kid starts a club; pulls the newbie nerd along; it's fun and games before it's not; things go awry; lies are told; pride is hurt; friends are no longer friends.

WWII is on the horizon, but the boys at the school are sheltered and don't believe anything is actually happening, not until a few classmates don't come back to school. Reality of childhood mets reality of adulthood. It's hard to read about the end of a childhood. 


An American classic and great bestseller for over thirty years, A Separate Peace is timeless in its description of adolescence during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to the second world war.

Set at a boys boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.

A bestseller for more than thirty years, A Separate Peace is John Knowles crowning achievement and an undisputed American classic.

Thursday, June 29, 2023

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea Axie Oh REVIEW


Opening: 

"The myths of my people say only a true bride of the Sea God can bring an end of his insatiable wrath." 

Beautiful, colorful, intriguing story that drew me in from the beginning...well, not from the very beginning, I must admit. It took me a couple of chapters and a couple of attempts to get fully immersed in this tale. I'm glad I gave it a second try, because it was worth it. 






Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…

Friday, June 23, 2023

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman REVIEW

 


Opening:

"Foreward

The most remarkable thing about the first days after Alan died, was the number of actors, poets, musicians, playwrights and directors who wanted to express their gratitude for all the help he'd given them."










I LOVED this book. I loved the insights from his diaries. The only bad part of listening to the book was I didn't get to see the photos. 




Alan was a favorite actor of mine in so many movies. Some of my favorites: 

Sense and Sensibility 

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Harry Potter

Galaxy Quest

Quigley Down Under

Die Hard

The Butler


From his breakout role in Die Hard to his outstanding, multifaceted performances in the Harry Potter films, Galaxy QuestRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and more, Alan Rickman cemented his legacy as a world-class actor. His air of dignity, his sonorous voice, and the knowing wit he brought to each role continue to captivate audiences today.

But Rickman’s ability to breathe life into projects wasn't confined to just his performances. As you'll find, Rickman's diaries detail the extraordinary and the ordinary, flitting between worldly and witty and gossipy, while remaining utterly candid throughout. He takes us inside his home, on trips with friends across the globe, and on the sets of films and plays ranging from Sense and Sensibility, to Noël Coward's Private Lives, to the final film he directed, A Little Chaos.

Running from 1993 to his death in 2016, the diaries provide singular insight into Rickman's public and private life. Reading them is like listening to Rickman chatting to a close companion. Meet Rickman the consummate professional actor, but also the friend, the traveler, the fan, the director, the enthusiast; in short, the man beyond the icon.

Madly, Deeply features a photo insert, a foreword by Emma Thompson, and an afterword by Rima Horton.

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