By Michelle Sherman
Pax Christi USA national staff, Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus (PCYAC)
The following review appeared in the autumn 2025 issue of Peace Current, the Pax Christi USA quarterly newsletter.
Atomic Pilgrim: How Walking Thousands of Miles for Peace Led to Uncovering Some of America’s Darkest Nuclear Secrets
This new memoir from Pax Christi USA member Jim Thomas leads readers through his experience of the Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage of 1982-1983, but it does not stop there. The book is also an indictment of the United States’ addiction to violence and unwillingness to acknowledge the harm not only inflicted on the country of Japan, but also on the people of this country.
This book is many things: a moving memoir of the Bethlehem Peace pilgrimage, with descriptions and details of the participants; a historical account of the decisions, places, routes, and people along the journey; a narrative of the US’s nuclear commitments, specifically in Hanford and the drastic effects on children who were exposed to radioactive fallout; and ultimately, an invitation and motivator to all those concerned with the future of our world and the imminent threat of nuclear weapons. Thomas’ book is especially a powerful read as we collectively mourn the 80th anniversaries of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this year.
Thomas provides readers with an overview and explanation of the two sections, which he refers to as “trails” of the book: “Trail one – Searching for peace from Bangor to Bethlehem” (which narrates the Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage) and “Trail two – Pursuing the truth about Hanford” (which is the fruit of Thomas’ meticulous research of declassified documents, online repositories, interviews, court transcripts, newspaper accounts, historical books, and 25 personal notebooks).
The author begins each of the 21 chapters with helpful titles that help the reader enter the emotional and physical journey. Several include the location, significant moments that occur there, and an archival photograph. For example, “Italy: The Fateful Decision, Papal Snub, and a Wedding” tells of the travels through Italy; the stress and community conflict while making the decision to travel to Bethlehem through Turkey, Yugoslavia, or Egypt; the disappointing lack of acknowledgment from Pope John Paul II in Rome; and how the communal and joyful wedding of two pilgrims brought the community of Cassino together, thanks to “the generosity of strangers.” The anecdotes and human portrayals in each chapter helped me experience all the emotions as Thomas describes them – from the freedom to “believe in peace and do something about it;” to meeting both support and opposition along the way; to the interpersonal struggles, mishaps, and frustrations in the group.
The second part of the book accounts another pilgrimage, but one that spans decades of the author’s quest for answers in his home state of Washington and where he continues to work for nuclear disarmament.
This book will be a welcome companion to:
- Fellow downwinders, who, like Jim Thomas and his sister, bear the effects and health challenges from being exposed to radioactive waste.
- Young adults and those newer to Pax Christi USA, who will encounter names in the larger peace movement, through brief introductions to people such as Thomas Merton; the community of Taizé; Jim Douglass; Fr. George Zabelka; hibakusha Setsuko Thurlow; Fr. Jack Morris, SJ; Archbishops John Wester of Santa Fe and Paul Etienne of Seattle; Daniel Ellsberg; and more.
- Campus ministers and spiritual directors, who accompany those who are seeking to “pray with their feet,” and who have a grasp of the importance of international solidarity through pilgrimage.
- Ultimately, this book is for anyone who desires hope in our world today. In the dedication to the book, Thomas acknowledges three groups of people: his fellow pilgrims, his fellow downwinders, and “to the people this book will inspire to join the pursuit of the truth, to seek answers to the remaining questions, and all who persist in demanding a full accounting of what nuclear weapons have cost the human family.”
Thomas’ book is ultimately about hope even as the darkness is insurmountable – for as long as there are people like him who join others and collectively unmask the idolatry of war, the darkness cannot overcome the vision of the nonviolent Jesus who compels us to build a world where humanity and creation flourish.
Click here to find information to order the book from the publisher, Latah Books.