Arrived at San Benito Monastery yesterday for a summer of writing. Feels good to be off the road a while to hunker down and write my new book, River of Fire.

In it I give a step by step account of how I evolved from being a nun sealed off from the (wicked) world, only leaving the convent to teach, then hurrying back to the safety of the cloister.

So, how does such a nun end up on death row and smack in the middle of public debate on the death penalty? One huge thing that happened to bust me out of my isolated, fortress mentality - and not only me but the entire Catholic church - was the unexpected supernova of Vatican Council II in the ’60s, It changed my life, I’ll tell you that.

It is one interesting process, let me tell you, to go back and trace the unfurling of spiritual freedom in your life.

I hope I can write this book in such a universal way that it can be helpful to everybody, even those who shun institutional religion as a point of honor.