Patrice O'Neill

If Nuns Ruled the World Patrice O'Neill

Veteran reporter Jo Piazza profiles 10 extraordinary nuns and the causes to which they have dedicated their lives - from an 83-year-old Ironman champion to a brave sister who rescues victims of human trafficking.

Meet Sister Simone Campbell, who traversed the United States challenging a Republican budget that threatened to severely undermine the well-being of poor Americans; Sister Megan Rice, who is willing to spend the rest of her life in prison if it helps eliminate nuclear weapons; and the inimitable Sister Jeannine Gramick, who is fighting for acceptance of gays and lesbians in the Catholic Church. During a time when American nuns are under attack from the very institution to which they pledge, these sisters offer inspiring, provocative counter-stories that are sure to spark debate.

Overthrowing our popular perception of nuns as killjoy schoolmarms content to live in the annals of nostalgia, Piazza defines them instead as the most vigorous catalysts of change in an otherwise constricting patriarchy.