The nation’s foremost leader in efforts to abolish the death
penalty shares the story of her growth as a spiritual leader, speaks
out about the challenges of the Catholic Church, and shows that joy
and religion are not mutually exclusive.
Sister Helen Prejean’s work as an activist nun, campaigning to
educate Americans about the inhumanity of the death penalty, is known
to millions worldwide. Less widely known is the evolution of her
spiritual journey from praying for God to solve the world’s
problems to engaging full-tilt in working to transform societal
injustices. Sister Helen grew up in a well-off Baton Rouge family
that still employed black servants. She joined the Sisters of St.
Joseph at the age of eighteen and was in her forties when she had an
awakening that her life’s work was to immerse herself in the
struggle of poor people forced to live on the margins of society.
Sister Helen writes
about the relationships with friends, fellow nuns, and mentors who
have shaped her over the years. In this honest and fiercely open
account, she writes about her close friendship with a priest, intent
on marrying her, that challenged her vocation in the “new territory
of the heart.” The final page of River of Fire ends with the
opening page of Dead Man Walking, when she was first invited to
correspond with a man on Louisiana’s death row.
River of Fire
is a book for anyone interested in journeys of faith and
spirituality, doubt and belief, and “catching on fire” to purpose
and passion. It is a book, written in accessible, luminous prose,
about how to live a spiritual life that is wide awake to the
sufferings and creative opportunities of our world.