July 16, 2025
Atomic Pilgrim
How Walking Thousands of Miles for Peace Led to
Uncovering Some of America’s Darkest Nuclear Secrets
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.
Advance Praise
“James Thomas’s book, Atomic Pilgrim, is a memoir and much more. It is a pilgrim’s journey into the truth of atomic weapons and the ever-present danger they pose to human civilization. Of equal importance, James shares his journey that delved into countless declassified documents, interviews, journals and oral histories that took decades to compile. With unswerving dedication to the truth, his revelations about the Hanford Site are particularly disturbing if not tragic.”
—Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe
“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
“In Jim’s noble struggle waged during a fearful time that mirrors our own, I find both comfort and inspiration. His life stands as an empowering example to guide humanity’s search for an answer to the enduring question: how can we achieve peace?”
—Eddie Laiché, Co-Founder of Students for Nuclear Disarmament
Atomic Pilgrim is about courage, transformation, and community. It reveals a way of being and a level of commitment desperately needed today. Expect to be challenged!
—Marie Dennis, Past Co-president of Pax Christi International (2007-2019) and Director of Pax Christi’s Catholic Institute for Nonviolence
“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
“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.”
—Prof. Dr. Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Historical Theology,
Villanova University and author of Vatican II: The Battle for Meaning.
“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
“Atomic Pilgrim tells the remarkable story of a life lived in the service of nuclear disarmament. Spanning thousands of miles and decades of research and advocacy, Jim Thomas’s message is at once hopeful and haunting: Peace is more than a dream. It is a necessity.”
—Shannon Cram, PhD, author of Unmaking the Bomb: Environmental Cleanup and the Politics of Impossibility