**Paperback edition**
 
James Patrick Thomas’s path toward nuclear disarmament began on Good Friday, 1982, when he and his fellow peace pilgrims started walking away from the Trident Nuclear Submarine Base near Seattle. Their Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage would span 6,700 miles across the United States and nine other countries, each step aimed at ending the nuclear arms race.
 
After two years on the road, Jim continued his pursuit of peace and disarmament. Back in Spokane, Washington, Jim turned his attention toward the Hanford plutonium factory—one of the original Manhattan Project sites just 110 miles from his home. Over the next two decades, Jim helped uncover stunning revelations about Hanford’s toxic regional impact and its role in our nation’s nuclear weapons complex.
 
Atomic Pilgrim is the story of how one person’s faith, actions, and persistence can impact seemingly immovable systems and hold even the most powerful bureaucracies to account.
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Praise for Atomic Pilgrim:
 
"Atomic Pilgrim is both a journey of public witness but also one of examination of the soul. As Jim chronicles the details and daily experiences of this phenomenal leap of faith to walk from Seattle with a core group of companions, across the United States and then northern Europe to Bethlehem, he also lays bare the internal crises of faith he encounters that rocks his very soul in the process. In addition, Atomic Pilgrim recounts the real-life experiences of downwinders whose faith in the United States was shaken as their lives were devastated by incurable cancer caused by the toxification of their hometown by political silence and corporate greed revealing that "The nuclear weapons complex is entrenched . . ." and can only be conquered by the "collective actions by concerned citizens." Inspiring - Informative – Impactful."
     ~Charlene Howard, Executive Director, Pax Christi USA
 
“Atomic Pilgrim is a riveting account by James Patrick Thomas of the 6,700-mile pilgrimage for peace. Father George Zabelka led the arduous journey across the USA and nine other countries to Bethlehem. For Thomas, the experience was transformative. Returning to the USA, he sought the truth about radioactive contamination released from Hanford and other nuclear weapons sites. Atomic Pilgrim is an inspiring memoir that raises important questions for today about the human costs of nuclear weapons."
     ~Cynthia C. Kelly, President of the Atomic Heritage Foundation
 
"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
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"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
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"Atomic Pilgrim is an inspiring reminder of the many paths opened by courageous people of faith leading to a more peaceful world. Now with a renewed nuclear arms race, Atomic Pilgrim challenges us all to be prophets testifying to the truth.”
     ~Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Historical Theology, Villanova University
 
"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 relates the journey of a person deeply committed to a world without nuclear weapons. Uniquely, the book provides both scientifically solid information, personal sharing of faith in God, and rich stories of friendships with a variety of people in different parts of the world."
     ~Mercedarian Missionaries of Berriz Sister Shizue “Filo” Hirota, consultant for the Catholic Council for Justice and Peace of the Bishops’ Conference of Japan
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"This book, for me, is about quiet heroism. Tenderly written from the perspective of a young man who found himself walking from Seattle to Bethlehem in the name of peace, this trip served to inform Thomas's entire life's work. 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
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Author Bio:
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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 advocate for disarmament with local and national organizations. He lives in Seattle with his wife and daughter.
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www.jamespatrickthomas.com