Meet the Author
Karen Lueck is a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration. She has spent much of her life recognizing the goodness in herself and others. As an educator, mental health counselor, spiritual director and leader in her congregation of Catholic Sisters, she acted as a cheerleader for the people with whom she ministered. In her first book, "Cheering for the Good: Leading When It Matters," Sister Karen's urges all of us to step up and be the change.
Her new book, "The Green Thread: Reclaiming Our Spiritual Authority," is part memoir, part research narrative about what happens when church and earthly powers form an unholy alliance to keep people, especially women, subservient. "The Green Thread" will be released in September 2025.
The Green Thread: Reclaiming Our Spiritual Authority
Coming September 2025! Sister Karen's new book, "The Green Thread: Reclaiming Our Spiritual Authority," is part memoir, part research narrative about what happens when church and earthly powers form an unholy alliance to keep people, especially women, subservient. Sister Karen uses her own family history as a template to lay bare the intergenerational trauma suffered by conquered peoples, and the resilience embraced by those who recognize their own spiritual authority to speak truth to power.
Upcoming Author Events
'The Green Thread: Reclaiming Our Spiritual Authority' Book Launch
Thursday, Sept. 18
6 - 8 p.m. CT
Franciscan Spirituality Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin
Sister Karen Lueck's new book, "The Green Thread: Reclaiming Our Spiritual Authority," is a work of creative nonfiction using her own story and the story of her ancestors, the Old Saxons, to claim the ways in which they were traumatized by church and imperial authorities through the centuries, and the ways in which they have claimed their resilience. Sister Karen will read an excerpt from her book at 7 p.m. Copies of her book will also be available for purchase.
'The Green Thread: Reclaiming Our Spiritual Authority' Book Group Discussion
Wednesday, Oct. 22
5:30 - 7 p.m. CT
Online via Zoom
Join us for a powerful conversation with Karen Lueck, FSPA, author of "The Green Thread," a book about personal and historical exploration of healing, resilience and spiritual authority. In response to the Dalai Lama's 2009 call that "the world will be saved by the Western woman," Sister Karen reflects on her own journey of healing from shame and ancestral trauma, especially as a descendant of the persecuted Saxons.
The Green Thread: Women Sharing Themselves
Thursday, Nov. 6, 13 and 20
5:30 - 7 p.m. CT
Franciscan Spirituality Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin
"The Green Thread: Reclaiming Our Spiritual Authority" is part memoir, part researched narrative about what happens when church and earthly powers form an unholy alliance to keep people, especially women, subservient. The author, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, will lead a three-week sharing session for women, exploring our own intergenerational trauma and the resilience and spiritual authority we can claim when we support and empower one another.
Cheering For The Good: Leading When It Matters
When asked about her favorite message from her first book, "Cheering for the Good," Sister Karen said, "I love a paragraph in the last chapter of the book, entitled Standing on Holy Ground: 'I am cheering for you to be the best leaders you can be. Remember, everyone is a leader, so you have plenty of partners in this mission. If any of you decide to sit this one out, to let someone else do it, to count on the experts to carry out our mission, we as a whole will be immensely poorer. And the earth and its creatures will suffer. We're counting on each other. Together we commit ourselves, a tiny band of pilgrims, united in love, on a journey of transformation, to bring life, love and presence to a world aching to be healed and transformed.'"
Sister Karen reads from "Cheering For The Good"
Loyola University Chicago: "Alumni Author Spotlight"
Podcast: What is Spirituality?
The Franciscan Spirituality Center featured Sister Karen on its podcast, "What is Spirituality?," hosted by FSC Spiritual Director Steve Spilde.
Invite Sister Karen to a Book Discussion
Sister Karen welcomes opportunities to discuss her books as a guest at book clubs or gatherings, either in-person or virtual.