If Nuns Ruled the World: Ten Sisters on a Mission

This was a really neat book. It was inspiring and disturbing at the same time. The author can write well. She's given little snapshots into the lives of 10 extraordinary women. What amazing people.Some of the things these nuns were invited can keep you up at night: human trafficking and torture. :-( :-( .Others were just neat (the Ironman running octogenarian was particularly inspiring).The only nit - minor and probably inevitable, given the subjects) is that the heroes are heroes for liberal causes. Ok, I didn't expect a story on "Sister Ann, Corporate Raider". But abortion, gay rights, and so on are clearly subjects with a leftist slant. Which is fine; "Sister Boniface the Bank Robber" would be a very interesting story but not at all a likely one.The book serves is a peek into a slice of life that few people ever think about.Well done!Highly recommended

A great book; funny in places; sad in others. These women can do circles around any governement agency; they don't let anyone stop them. More importantly, their reasoning for taking on these issues was social justice. They worked for those who can not speak for themselves. The nuns were smart; they listened; came up with a plan and excuted it. If one way didn't work; they would try another.

Who knew that nuns could be badass? The women featured in this book are rebels each in their own way, women who chose causes and have stood up for them. The author tells us that one elderly nun was even put in jail because of her protests against an injustice. These are not your grandmother's nuns! This book has nothing to do with the Catholic church. Rather, it has everything to do with modern, strong women who happen to be Catholic nuns. A great read on an overlooked subject, and it should be in any library of women's and feminist studies.

In truth, I bought this just because of title. I am not a super religious person and I worried that maybe this would turn out to be "too preachy" for me. Instead, the book is simple, down-to-earth, and doesn't push religion. What it does is highlight how religious belief has inspired ten women to work to make a difference in the world.I am happy I read this. I am happy to know some of the nuns have books of their own - I wish they all did. I would love to meet all of them, because of what they do and how they do it. We need more people like them in this world.

As a catholic priest for over 50 years, this book struck many chords in my heart. The ten women represented in this book are just a simple sampling of the roles that these great women have contributed not simply to the Church but to humanity as well. These religious women as well as women "laity" in the church remind us how much these wonderful and powerful people have contributed not to an institution but to the growth and development of the whole community of the world. I could add about 100 more women to the list that Jo Piazza presents here. It is interesting that while bishops and hierarchy parade around in "dresses" (Cassocks), they have contributed much less to the human growth of the world than the women.These women are not your "pious" types but they are living witnesses to the Gospel values proclaimed by Jesus, namely liberation, justice and equality.I believe that Jo Piazza has written a great book that tells us that ordinary people who have a sense of mysticism,which we all have, contribute so much to the development and evolution of the human spirit. This book is so easy to read and it entices one to just keep reading and when chapter 10 was completed, I wanted to read more about the many others whose names would fill multiple chapters.

I thought this would be more about the nuns; it seemed more about the author, and her perspective on the nuns. It was less interesting to me when written in this manner. So, it's okay, though with all of the books that I have on hand, not even interesting enough for me to finish it. I moved on to other things, and likely will not finish this one.

The title was enough to capture my attention but the stories kept me reading. I'm not Catholic but still the tales of nuns fighting the odds was very inspiring.

Jo Piazza provides a book of true facts, extensively researched, of Nuns (Women) who are leaders, risk takers, "world improvers"; who "walk the talk", walk as Jesus did, and model the true acts of Church, Christianity and Humanity. Intriguing, informative and thought-provoking. These are women who equal the positive leadership of the few women who are acknowleged in the Bible. Yes, it's time for peace in our world, acceptance of one another's differences, insead of a world of fear, oppression, greed, violence, and radical weaponry. Readers may be shocked by the interference of the patriarchy and use of bureaucracy in to censor human rights activities. I recommend this book as an understanding of Nuns, of women, and how they solve problems in spite of the patriarchy and the church. There is no complacency here. Read about ten modern day heroines.

I can't tecommend this book enough. It completely changed my view of the Catholic church, simply by reading the stories of these courageous feminist nuns.

a great read

O título do livro é provocador, mas seu conteúdo é ainda melhor. Piazza descreve a história de vida de 10 freiras que lutam bravamente para trazer alívio às pessoas marginalizadas da sociedade. As freiras se dedicam às mais diferentes causas como ativismo pela paz (contra armas nucleares), igualdade de gênero (particularmente para a ordenação de mulheres na Igreja Católica), a aceitação da diversidade de opções sexuais, o apoio às vítimas do tráfico humano e exploração sexual, suporte a ex-presidiárias, etc. Ao descrever os motivos que levaram cada uma das irmãs a se dedicarem a essas causas, o livro nos permite participar das contradições que certezas e preconceitos impõem a um grande grupo de seres humanos e nos permite ampliar nossa compreensão sobre as injustiças existentes no mundo. Ao finalizar a leitura, o livro nos faz sentir seres humanos um pouco melhores, mais capazes de compreensão e compaixão e talvez mais ativos para participar desse esforço por um mundo melhor para todos. Excelente livro!

A must read.. Must read.. And a good page turner.

Totally wonderful. It was a delightful read, and the breadth of issues covered highlight so many areas of our society that need attention. It really was interesting to read about these women doing such good in the world.