river of fire my spiritual journey

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River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey Hardcover – Aug. 13 2019

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• Print length 320 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Random House
• Publication date Aug. 13 2019
• Dimensions 14.86 x 2.72 x 21.59 cm
• ISBN-10 1400067308
• ISBN-13 978-1400067305
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House (Aug. 13 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1400067308
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1400067305
• Item weight ‏ : ‎ 426 g
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 14.86 x 2.72 x 21.59 cm
• #1,650 in Social Work (Books)
• #2,233 in Social Services & Welfare
• #3,613 in Spiritual Inspiration

About the author

Helen prejean.

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River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey

Helen prejean. random house, $27 (320p) isbn 978-1-4000-6730-5.

Reviewed on: 04/24/2019

Genre: Religion

Paperback - 320 pages - 978-0-307-38903-9

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River of fire: my spiritual journey (hardcover).

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• Biography & Autobiography / Religious
• Religion / Inspirational
• Social Science / Social Work
• Kobo eBook (August 12th, 2019): $11.99
• Paperback (August 25th, 2020): $16.95

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Sister Helen Prejean On Witnessing Executions: 'I Couldn't Let Them Die Alone'

Terry Gross

Sister Helen Prejean has written a new memoir called River of Fire , detailing her spiritual life before her activism against the death penalty. Michael Lionstar/Random House hide caption

Sister Helen Prejean has written a new memoir called River of Fire , detailing her spiritual life before her activism against the death penalty.

Sister Helen Prejean is best known for her 1993 memoir, Dead Man Walking , about her role as a spiritual adviser to a convicted killer on death row. The story was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. Prejean has accompanied six prisoners to their executions and has been at the forefront of activism against the death penalty.

"In [their] last moments, I was amazed that they're walking," she says. "'Sister, pray that God holds my legs up as I walk.' They take steps. I read scripture to them. ... All I knew was: I couldn't let them die alone."

Her new memoir, River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey , tells the story of her life leading up to her awakening to social justice movements in the 1980s. She entered the convent in 1957, joining the Congregation of St. Joseph in Baton Rouge, La. She remembers a strict regimen guided by canonical law, where questioning of superiors was forbidden.

"It was called 'blind obedience,' and by being obedient, that was how you got holy," Prejean says. "You gave up self-will, and in the process, as I experienced it, you also began to give up a lot of thinking — critical thinking — because you knew what you had to do was conform in the end to whatever was being asked of you."

Sisters And Vatican II: A Generational Tug Of War

Just a few years later, beginning in 1962, her life was opened up by the reforms of Vatican II — the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. Suddenly she and the other nuns were allowed to discuss books, talk to each other freely, and choose their own ministry.

Her book ends with her letter to Pope Francis, in which she shares her concern about the way the church excludes women. "How do you love your Church and raise the questions?" she says. "You do that because you do love your Church! ... You keep the dialogue going!

Interview Highlights

On becoming involved in social justice in her 40s

River of Fire

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There were two main things driving that. One was: I was really in a spiritual cocoon. We had young girls coming over to the motherhouse for retreats. I really did think that the way you change the world was: You pray and God takes care of the big problems of the world. And I'd say things like, "I'm apolitical. I'm spiritual. I'm above that." And so this is just one rift — these tensions and dialogues and debates were going on about everything. One of them was ... now that Vatican II is open to the needs and sufferings of the world, what is our mission going to be?

Before, it had always been determined by an institutional structure: You would teach in this school, you will be in this hospital. Now, we as a community of sisters are beginning to determine it for ourselves. So we had sisters going over to Latin America and beginning to be in Nicaragua and El Salvador in those countries, and coming back and [saying], "Do you know what's happening to the people? There are these death squads. There are dictators. There are these people being disappeared and tortured." They were bringing into our meetings the suffering of what was going on in those countries, and then the journey began.

So I came back to New Orleans ... and I would begin to volunteer with the novices taking the bus and going into the inner city, to the St. Thomas housing projects, and beginning to volunteer at a place called Hope House.

On accompanying six men on death row to their executions

Federal Government To Resume Capital Punishment After Nearly 20-Year Hiatus

Of course I'm on the outside of them, but in a way I'm on the inside of them too, because I've gotten to know them. ... [They] cannot help but anticipate and imagine their death, which is coming. It's predetermined, and they all have the same nightmare: "The guards come in for me. It's my time, and I'm kicking, struggling, 'No, no!' and they're trying to drag me out of my cell, and then I wake up and it's a dream." ... They shared that with me and their inner anguish.

On what she tries to convey to people as they die

All the words have been spoken. In my faithfulness to them and in visiting them, they know my love and care for them, and that I believe in their dignity. It's all presence then. It's just pure presence. Like when you're at the death of anyone, you're not making long speeches ... there's nothing to say. You look at my face. I'll be the face of Christ for you. It's pure presence and that's what it is.

On women in the church being restricted from priesthood and participating in policy changes

Women can't preach in the Catholic Church. Women cannot read the Gospel at Mass. A young little pimply teenager who happens to be a boy could read the Gospel. You've got to be male. [There are a] million ways it plays out that women somehow cannot fully image Christ. It was what I said in the letter [to Pope Francis], was that women need to be in on those decision-making councils when policies are being decided in the church, because the presence of women — our consciousness, our empathy, what we bring to the table — is really important for the dialogue. And if men in the church are always only talking to other men at the top decision-making levels, and that's the curia in Rome, that's the bishops when they meet — it's always all males. And ... if we don't have full dialogue with women represented ... we are never going to be able to embody what the gospel of Jesus is about.

On how witnessing death changed her feelings about her own death

In watching people actually go to their death, I've seen how they summoned their courage to make the walk. They're very afraid, but they do it. I've watched Mama, Daddy, [my sister] Mary Ann. ... My sister, she was always brave. When we were doing tomboy things like jumping from a limb to catch a rope swing, I'm the last one on the branch, and she's going, "Jump! Don't be such a sissy!" So the words that came up inside me after she had died — because she was gone then, I couldn't hear her voice physically — was: "Sis, death comes for everybody. I did it. It's going to happen to you too. Don't be a sissy! I had what it took. God brought me through it, and you'll have what you need to and it strengthens me."

Sam Briger and Thea Chaloner produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Molly Seavy-Nesper and Patrick Jarenwattananon adapted it for the Web.

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• About the Book

In this revelatory, intimate memoir from the author of DEAD MAN WALKING, 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 18 and was in her 40s 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 MEN 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.

River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey by Sister Helen Prejean

• Publication Date: August 13, 2019
• Genres: Memoir , Nonfiction , Religion , Spirituality
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Random House
• ISBN-10: 1400067308
• ISBN-13: 9781400067305

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River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey Paperback – 6 Aug. 2020

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'Riveting ... Providing a window into the upheaval in the church during the 1960s and 70s, Prejean's engrossing memoir also fleshes out how she rose to be an influential voice within the church before becoming a renowned proponent of abolishing the death penalty. Informing and entertaining, Prejean's exceptional memoir will be of special interest to social justice advocates. Publishers Weekly In this revelatory, intimate memoir from the author of Dead Man Walking, America'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. In this honest and fiercely open account, Sister Helen writes about the relationships with friends, fellow nuns and mentors who have shaped her over the years, as well as the close friendship with a priest 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. Written in accessible, luminous prose, it is a book about how to live a spiritual life that is wide awake to the sufferings and creative opportunities of our world.

• Print length 320 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
• Publication date 6 Aug. 2020
• Dimensions 13 x 2.4 x 19.8 cm
• ISBN-10 1529368332
• ISBN-13 978-1529368338
• See all details

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hodder & Stoughton (6 Aug. 2020)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1529368332
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529368338
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13 x 2.4 x 19.8 cm
• 3,296 in Occult Spiritualism
• 4,075 in Course in Miracles (Books)

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Helen prejean.

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River of Fire: On Becoming an Activist Kindle Edition

• Print length 294 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publisher Vintage
• Publication date August 13, 2019
• File size 3221 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
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About the author, excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved., product details.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07JLGXVR4
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage (August 13, 2019)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 13, 2019
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 3221 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 294 pages
• #110 in Death, Grief & Spirituality
• #240 in Women's Inspirational Spirituality
• #375 in Spiritual Biography

About the author

Helen prejean.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 79% 14% 5% 1% 1% 79%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 79% 14% 5% 1% 1% 14%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 79% 14% 5% 1% 1% 5%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 79% 14% 5% 1% 1% 1%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 79% 14% 5% 1% 1% 1%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

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Customers find the content honest, thought-provoking, and loving. They also describe the book as an easy read with unexpected developments and an exciting, real storyline.

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Customers find the book thought-provoking, beautiful, and inspiring. They also say the author's passion is inspiring. Readers mention the story is honest, vibrant, and interesting. They appreciate the buoyant, incisive, and loving speaking voice.

"...But it also has deep philosophical threads running through it that are not stuffy or pedantic but exciting. Sister Helen showed me how to live...." Read more

"Great story. Saturated with wisdom and spiritual maturity . Strongly recommend it to anyone who seeks to find the answer about faith." Read more

"...Man Walking, River of Fire is beautifully written and full of unexpected developments and like the former book, this would make for a compelling and..." Read more

"The story moves slowly, but contains a lot of interesting information about the Catholic Church and the changes that occurred in the 1970s...." Read more

Customers find the storyline exciting, memorable, and inspiring. They also describe the book as a wonderful ride down the driver of life and the internal struggle of one.

"...The story is exciting and real , which all memoirs ought to be...." Read more

" Great story . Saturated with wisdom and spiritual maturity. Strongly recommend it to anyone who seeks to find the answer about faith." Read more

"Wow! This book was so honest and retells the journey of Helen Prejean. Unexpected stops and starts in the journey but very easy to relate to...." Read more

"...Could not put it down. A wonderful ride down the driver of life and the internal struggle of one of thr great persons of our time...." Read more

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