Theresa Bonpane is a lifelong activist and peace advocate fighting for human rights and addressing the root causes of war and oppression. She served as a Maryknoll sister in Chile and became politically active while working with marginalized communities, realizing that the poor needed systemic change, not just charity. Alongside her husband, Blase Bonpane, her two children, and six grandchildren, she has been a leading voice in the peace movement and has spent decades working to promote peace, nonviolence, and diplomacy.
"“A gripping account of dedicated service, struggle and personal turmoil, and inspiring accomplishment. It’s a truly marvelous story. Once I opened the book, I couldn’t put it down.”—Noam Chomsky, author of Manufacturing Consent “From a Catholic convent to national prominence and controversy, Theresa Bonpane shares her deeply personal and inspiring journey of a lifelong, uncompromising peace and social justice icon, wife and mother who never separated one from the other and greatly celebrated both in the balance.”—Martin Sheen, Emmy-Award winning actor ""Sister Rebel is exhilarating and honest, and is a pure invitation to stand at the margins with integrity. Her defiant and tender love invites us all to be where our feet are.""—Gregory J. Boyle, SJ, founder of Homeboy Industries “Many people witness history, few people make history. Theresa Bonpane, together with her late husband and lifelong comrades, were leaders in some of the most important issues of our times. Her willingness to share her inner life as a nun, activist, mother, and friend through honesty, vulnerability, and humor pull you into her life as it unfolds page by page.""—Rabbi Susan Goldberg, activist and founder of Nefesh “Sister Rebel is an American classic, a powerful and beautifully written memoir of the extraordinary life and times of former Maryknoll sister Theresa Killeen Bonpane. From her humble beginnings as a young woman from Troy, New York, to a Catholic Maryknoll sister dedicated to the poor and destitute of Central America, to a powerful and inspiring leader in America’s peace and justice movement. This is an important book that should be read by every American.”—Ron Kovic, author of Born on the Fourth of July"