During the month of November we remember--and honor--all the saints and the souls of all the just. A Sister of Notre Dame de Namur named Dorothy Stang is one of these elect. Her life story is one of commitment to spreading the Good News, promoting peace and justice, fighting for the poor and oppressed. For 40 years she carried on this mission in the jungles of Brazil.

Martyr of the Amazon is a moving account of Stang’s ministry, her steadfast love and commitment to the Gospel message that she knew could some day cost her her life. The author of the book is executive director of Planned Giving for Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, Calif. She drew on many primary sources: Stang’s correspondence, interviews with family members and her reports from the frontline, so to speak, for the community’s archives--some of which are reprinted in the book.

The account is chronological, from Stang’s childhood, to religious life (she was fully professed in 1951), to her early missionary work among migrant laborers in Arizona and, ultimately, along with four other missionary sisters, the move to Brazil in the summer of 1966. The challenges were great for this pastoral team, whose number eventually increased. By the mid-70s, however, “priests and religious all over Brazil were beginning to feel the pressure of the military repression of anyone who questioned the government.”

Still, Sister Stang labored to have the farmers unionize, encouraging them to exercise their power to bring about change. The government’s view of these peasants stood in sharp contrast. On Feb.12, 2005, Stang was walking in the forest when two gunmen approached. She removed her Bible from a bag and began reciting the Beatitudes. And with “Blessed are the peacemakers,” they shot her down. But her spirit and her work live on.

We recommend this inspiring book to all our readers; it is an extraordinary testament to the sacrifices of all martyrs.