Terrorized: A Memoir of Trauma, Healing, and Coming Home

Fred Thelen, a Catholic priest, embarks on a mission to Peru, only to confront a growing terrorist movement that will shatter him. In his gripping memoir, Terrorized, Thelen recounts his immersion in the Maryknoll mission among the people of the ancient Aymara culture on the shimmering shores of Lake Titicaca. He finds purpose in his cross-cultural work and advocacy for human rights. With humor and raw honesty, he shares his personal struggles and spiritual awakenings. But as the terrorist and government violence of the Sendero years become life-threatening, and a betrayal batters his spirit, he needs to get out. The return to his home state of Michigan begins the long path to healing from post-traumatic stress. He uncovers painful emotions from childhood and layers of trauma that he had never acknowledged. Nurturing and loving relationships with friends, family, and a soulmate become his key to recovery and reentry into the world he had left behind.

About the Author :
Fred Thelen served in Peru as an associate priest with the Maryknoll missionaries from 1988 to 1993. Throughout his ministry, he has advocated for social justice and human rights, including serving on the National Council of Pax Christi USA, and as a Global Fellow with Catholic Relief Services. He is the recipient of the Faith in Action award for community organizing from Action of Greater Lansing and the Purple Ribbon for Peace award from Pax Christi Michigan. He holds a Doctor of Ministry from St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore and an MA from the University of Detroit. Growing up on the family farm in small-town America imparted a reverence for Mother Earth that he continues to nurture at his home surrounded by northern Michigan's woods and water.

Review :
"Father Fred Thelen has written a fascinating description of the multifaceted journey of his life and priesthood . . . Relationships-in the family, across cultures, with brother priests and fellow missioners, with the legacy of a cousin-bishop, with Pachamama and the spirit-world as well as the farmland of home-all provide more than a background; they are the texture, the connecting fibers of the story, and what allows for the openness to mystery as Father Fred tries to piece it all together." - Bishop John Stowe, Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky "Coming face to face with terrorism, poverty, and corrupt systems, while also forming indelible relationships, the author shares the scars left by his missionary journey . . . At once deeply personal, there is as well a universal invitation to the readers to ponder the deepest questions of meaning, identity, and mission for themselves." - Sister Barbara E. Reid, president, Catholic Theological Union "When I first stepped into this beautifully written inspirational story, I was full of fear for the people of Peru and for our beloved Father Fred. By the grace of God, I prayed, I cried, and was rewarded with a powerful lesson in courage, faith, and love." - Ana Garcia-Ashley, executive director of the Gamaliel Network "Fred Thelen recalls the fear and suffering that stalked the lives of Peruvians during the Sendero years and the consequences in his own life of terror-related long-term trauma. He captures well the strength and beauty of the Aymara communities who welcomed Maryknoll missioners to the Peruvian altiplano and the deep respect of the missioners for Peruvian culture." - Marie Dennis, senior director of Pax Christi International's Catholic Nonviolence Initiative "Fred Thelen honestly, often humorously and with deep insight, recounts his journey into the Aymara cultural world and the violence that led to his post-traumatic stress and journey home to healing. Anyone who seeks insight into working within another culture and the journey of healing from trauma will find a gem in this well-written and personally revealing book." - Sister Patricia Ryan, president of the Civil Association Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente in Puno, Peru "Trauma, though not universal, is experienced by many, and those who seek to recover from trauma will find in Father Fred Thelen's well-written account of trauma, terror, and healing an accessible guide to what one can do to find a way forward . . . Moreover, because Thelen's story illustrates how foreign surroundings push one to grow in unexpected ways, it is good reading for anyone who has migrated from one country to another or is contemplating work in an intercultural setting." - Robert A. Hurteau, director of the Center for Religion and Spirituality, Loyola Marymount University