A Nun on the Bus: How All of Us Can Create Hope, Change, and Community

Driving for faith, family, and fairness

In the summer of 2012, Sister Simone Campbell and a group of fellow Roman Catholic nuns toured parts of the country to rally support against Congressman Paul Ryan's budget, a plan that cut vital social programs for the hurting poor and the struggling middle class. Prayer groups turned into rallies, and small town meetings became national media events. Sister Simone became a galvanizing force for progressives of all stripes and remains a driving force for programs and policies that support tolerance, equality, and justice.

Rooted in a deep spirituality of compassion and service, Sister Simone gives voice to the hunger, isolation, and fear that so many people in America feel. She shows how we can create real transformation in our communities through the contemplative life of prayer. These powerful, inspiring stories from the Nuns on the Bus tour and from Sister Simone's own life offer a fresh vision for a lived spirituality that is at the heart of today's progressive Christian movements working for change.

Sister Simone Campbell is the executive director of NETWORK, a nonprofit Catholic social justice lobby in Washington, D.C. In 2012, Sister Simone organized NETWORK's Nuns on the Bus campaign that has attracted an avalanche of media attention in the United States and other parts of the world. Sister Simone, who in 1978 became an attorney and founded a community law center that served the legal needs of the working poor, is a long-standing member of the Sisters of Social Service and has appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, The O'Reilly Factor, PBS with Bill Moyers, and all of the national radio and TV networks, and spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.