River of Fire

My Spiritual Journey

By: Helen Prejean

Narrated by: Helen Prejean

“River of Fire is Sister Helen’s story leading up to her acclaimed book Dead Man Walking - it is thought-provoking, informative, and inspiring. Read it and it will set your heart ablaze!” (Mark Shriver, author of Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis)

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 part of River of Fire ends with the opening part 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.

“Prejean chronicles the compelling, sometimes-difficult journey to the heart of her soul and faith with wit, honesty, and intelligence. A refreshingly intimate memoir of a life in faith.” (Kirkus Reviews)

©2019 Helen Prejean (P)2019 2019

Critic reviews

“Sister Prejean’s radical openness and bracing honesty about her own faith journey is as refreshing and compelling as it is demanding and questioning. If you’ve ever wondered what ‘faith’ asks of you, you must read this book. It will turn your world upside down as you witness the conversion of a pious, sheltered nun into a fiery, faithful freedom fighter for the poor and the marginal. It set my own heart on fire, as I followed her quest to set the heart of the world aflame with passion for justice." (Serene Jones, author of Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World)

“Sister Helen Prejean is one of the great moral leaders of our time. With her landmark book, Dead Man Walking, she turned the world’s attention to the injustices of the death penalty and, in the process, helped to change Catholic teaching on the topic. Her superb new memoir, River of Fire, is the inviting and inspiring story of her early days as a Catholic sister. A born storyteller, Sister Helen leads you, with her fierce intelligence and lively wit, from her entrance into a novitiate that still practiced the traditional ways of spiritual formation, to the volcanic changes wrought by the Second Vatican Council, to her first exciting days as a junior-high school teacher, to the initial stirrings of understanding what ‘social justice’ meant in action. River of Fire is a book to read and treasure, and Sister Helen’s is a life to celebrate and honor.” (James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage and The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything)

“Prejean chronicles the compelling, sometimes-difficult journey to the heart of her soul and faith with wit, honesty, and intelligence. A refreshingly intimate memoir of a life in faith.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Life changing

I’m so glad I found this book. Listening to Sr Prejean’s own voice was so powerful. It definitely will change how I live my life.

Highly recommend!

Whether you are a religious, spiritual, or a doubting Thomas, you will see yourself in this book. I appreciated her honesty & opening up the world of sisters. I liked how she ended her story with her letter to pope Francis.

Initially, I was s bit put off by her narration, her accent. However, I grew to enjoy her cadence.

This took her seven yrs to write!

Because I liked this book so much, I’m immediately delving into Dead man walking”.

Enjoyable Education by your new BFF

Prejean takes your hand and shows you just how human nuns are. Companied with her expert narration, it really feels as if you're her favorite confidant. (Let's go fishin'!)

1.25 speed

This is a great book, and the narration by the author is very fitting—just turn the speed up a little.

Great peek into Catholicism

This book is narrated by its' author, giving a rare glimpse into the process of becoming, and being, a nun - as it changes from the 1950s to current day. It was fascinating and I grew to love the author/narrator. I would definitely recommend this book.

A Gutsy and Faithful Sister

A story of faithfulness, a gutsy life of making good trouble, a total commitment to fairness and humanizing those on the edges; she's lived a life that challenges us all to be better people.

Very inspiring

No matter what your feelings are about the Catholic Church (& mine are conflicted), this memoir will demonstrate the courage it takes to become a nun and stay a nun. I loved this.

Inspiring and informative

I enjoyed hearing the story of Helen Prejean and the history of change in the Catholic Church. I was inspired by Sister Prejean's journey to involvement in social justice.

Exceptional!

Sister Helen Prejean is it incredible storyteller, and all the stories are true, heartfelt and inspirational. I would highly recommend that anyone buying this book listen to the book (and not just read it) - Sr. Helen gives so much more in her narration than any "hired hand" could. Her book is a must read, or must hear. She gives me hope for our world.

Incredible

What a beginning to an amazing life story. Such an inspiration. Can’t wait to read more!