Member Spotlights Member Spotlight: James Patrick Thomas August 14, 2025 Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab) on Facebook (opens in a new tab) on Linkedin (opens in a new tab) via email Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is a key way for me to share both information and my common humanity with other people. What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? My primary way is to pray to God for information. Another is to sit quietly and focus my attention on the deepest desire of my heart for all people to live in peace. What is your favorite time to write? In the morning–specifically between 8 and noon. I save the afternoon for research. What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? It’s from Anne Lamott’s Bird By Bird about writing to the emotional center, writing toward vulnerability. As writers, we have a moral responsibility to tell the truth as we understand it. See pages 209-210. What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? While the challenges our society faces are intimidating, there is a powerful beauty in the creative process of writing. Dorothy Day enjoyed quoting Dostoevsky, “the world will be saved by beauty.” James Patrick Thomas’s Atomic Pilgrim: How Walking Thousands of Miles for Peace Led to Uncovering Some of America’s Darkest Nuclear Secrets is out now with Latah Books.
