My name is Jo and I have written a book called "If Nuns Ruled the World" in which I chronicle the adventures of 10 incredible nuns who have broken boundaries and shattered stereotypes.

why nuns?

I went to Catholic high school. I have always been fascinated by Catholic sisters. I wanted to understand what makes them tick. I feel like nuns are such an enigma to most of us.

I didn't know what I was getting into when I started reporting this book. I certainly didn't know I was going to find these ten brave and inspiring women who shattered every single stereotype I had about nuns. I didn't think that I would come out of this calling these women my friends.

I also think these are women who deserve to have their stories told. The good they do often gets overshadowed by the negative news about the Church.

why did these women decide to become nuns?

That was one of my first questions. The answer is that they believe they didn't decide, that it was decided for them.

I try to explain what each of their callings felt like in each of their chapters.

The other answer is that these are women who truly wanted to dedicate their lives to service and this was one way for them to do it, especially back in the fifties and sixties.

Why not pick nuns that are in good standing with the Catholic Church? Why not look up some Orthodox nuns? Why pick nuns that are so different from their confreres?

I want to stress that I just kept following the reporting with this book. One nun led to another nun. I took recommendations from all of the nuns I met. I reached out to more conservative orders so many times and they did not get back to me. I knew that I wanted to focus on Catholic nuns and nuns in the United States so that narrowed the scale. I am working to create a space on my web site to tell more nun stories and I hope to include nuns of all stripes.

Thanks for the reply!

Have you tried Imagine Sisters? They're not nuns, but they sure know a lot of them and are interested in promoting vocations.

I want to work on something with them. I just got their contact info today and I am going to reach out shortly.

What is amazing is that I received a lot of hate on Twitter earlier today, but I don't think anyone reached out to actually talk to me (I invited them to). I think that is cowardly. I am open to hearing different points of view and reporting on them.

One more thing. I don't think a lot of them are different from mainstream Catholics. The nuns I profiled do reflect the values of a lot of American Catholics today.

When they make your book into a movie, which actresses would you want to portray the nuns?

Mariska Hargitay for sure. Helen Mirren, Dame Judy Dench, Meryl Streep and maybe Betty White, because who doesn't want Betty White to be in everything.

How many Rush albums do you own?

Grace Under Pressure and Caress of Steel

Did these ladies have these strong beliefs for their causes before they became nuns or did they develop sometime after?

It varies. Sister Megan always felt very strongly about fighting against nuclear weapons. I was with her during her trial for breaking into the nuclear weapons facility. She is in prison right now (also in her eighties). But it grew stronger when she was a sister. A lot of the women grew into their cause and their activism as sisters.

I really believe that a contemplative life, like the ones they lead, helps a person discover their true passions. That was one of the lessons I learned from them.

I noticed you highlight a few nuns whose act of bravery or inspiration is gravely opposed to the Church. So I take it you're not Catholic anymore? If not, why nuns? If so, why celebrate heresy?

Why do you think what they are doing is heresy?

To oppose Church doctrine as a Catholic is to commit heresy. Or were these nuns not Catholic?

They're Catholic. Not all of them oppose Church doctrine. And it is a gray area to say they are heretics. None of them have been excommunicated.

Any unknown facts about nuns that is worth sharing? 3 books for you! /u/changetip

So many. I think what is the most surprising is how much like everyone else these nuns are. They do yoga. They have ridden on motorcycles. They love swimming in the ocean. They love a glass of red wine sometimes.

They are also so incredibly brave. In the face of persecution from the Vatican none of these women have backed down. They are truly heroes. I think all of that is surprising.

Are you a practicing Catholic? Were you ever? Not all Catholic School students are or do practice.

If you rejected the faith is this Progresive effort of yours to get others to leave it as you have? What you call brave others call heresy and/or dangerous to the souls of those you influence negatively.

My dad was Catholic and my mom was Lutheran. I was raised as a holiday Catholic and various members of my family were religious in different ways. I didn't leave the Church with any anger. I would call myself a very spiritual person. I didn't go into writing this book with any kind of agenda against the Church. I genuinely reported exactly what I learned.

Personally I do find issue with the Catholic Church's official stance on women becoming priests, birth control and gay rights.

But, I understand that people call these things heresy and I am always happy to hear their point of view. I want to be challenged on what I have written. I welcome an open discussion about it.

Is Sister Madonna Buder still competing in her 80s? 40 Iron Mans is pretty impressive over any lifespan.

She sure is. I think she might have had a race this past weekend..but don't quote me on that. She was seriously injured about six months ago, but I know that she is back up and running now. She only started running at all in her late 40ties. She actually inspired me to run a half marathon (very slowly).

That's awesome!

I know, right! I actually don't enjoy running but she taught me all kinds of tricks. She makes up haikus in her head while she runs. So I do that too...I make really bad haikus.

I'm a former semi-professional runner (ran the half-marathon for the U.S. T&F team at the World University Games in '99), and I don't really enjoy running much anymore. Maybe, I'll give the haiku trick a try.

Try it!

How did people react when you said you wanted to document these women's stories? Any negative remarks regarding these women breaking stereotypes and boundaries?

There has been a surprising amount of negative feedback, a lot of it on Twitter so far. Some people think that I am attacking more conservative sisters when that isn't the case at all. I am just celebrating these stories. I am also more than happy to celebrate the work of all Catholic nuns. They all deserve it. These just happen to be the women that I worked with.

There is a lot of negativity surrounding nuns who fight for gay rights and women's rights. I find that incredibly upsetting in this day and age. My number one goal is to tell the stories of these women who I believe are incredibly brave.

But, any time you talk about a religious topic you are bound to make a few enemies.

If you were to create a nun based super hero, what would her name be, what powers would she have, and who would her arch nemesis be?

Her name would be Black Frock and she would be able to cure people with her touch, turn one loaf of bread into a feast and fly...obviously fly.

I haven't had much experience with nuns throughout my life so i have those common stereotypes when i see them i suppose. Could you tell us a story about these nuns that touched you, or changed the way you think about them?

What are your stereotypes?

They always seemed very strict to me, but maybe its the nun outfit.

The habit doesn't exactly promote the warm and fuzzies does it? The nuns I met were so warm and caring. They actually give great hugs. Seriously great. They weren't strict at all. I really can't say enough how funny they were. They were also constantly fussing over me. One of them tried to set me up on a date.

What's your next writing project going to focus on?

I actually have a novel coming out next May that focuses on the Tech World. I am working on a longer non-fiction project that could turn into a book about Muslim women. I am also working on a project about the nineteenth century lady explorer Jane Digby.

Mr. Piazza, if I were to keep cracking puns on the subject of your book, would you say you'd have nun of it?

I would say it was becoming a bad habit.

Touché. I'm afraid I really had a black and white perspective on it.

Well that's just nunsense.

Why does your flair read "Yahoo travel"?

(I could ask an author any question and I ask this? What's wrong with me?)

What is wrong with you? Kidding. I am the managing editor of Yahoo Travel. So I am actually in Macedonia right now. The last AMA I did was for that. Reddit is fixing now.

What is the one fact you learned about nuns (or about any one of the nuns you interviewed) that most surprised you?

They tell really amazing cheesy jokes and they love puns as much as I do.

I was also shocked to meet Sister Jeannine who fights for gay rights and Sister Donna Quinn who volunteered as an escort at an abortion clinic.

I was also blown away by their bravery.

What's your favorite pizza?

thin crust pepperoni

Have you read The Missionary Position by Christopher Hitchens and, if so, what did you think of it? If not, what are you're thoughts on "Mother" Teresa?

I did and I am a huge Hitchens fan. That said, I think Missionary Position was unfair to Mother Teresa. I am actually in the Balkans right now where she was born and it is fitting that I am surrounded by icons of her.

She did incredible work and I really think that Hitchens minimized that. What I do agree with is that the Church used Mother Teresa as a prop for public relations purposes...but let's be honest all religions are the best at propaganda. I don't necessarily think that she was complicit in it. I genuinely believe that she just wanted to be of service to people.

But it is a beautifully written essay.

Was it anything like sister act II?

There is a lot of singing. One of the nuns in my book knows all of the words to Walk Like an Egyptian.

Have you seen the movie "Nude Nuns With Big Guns?"

If so, how do these nuns compare?

You know that showed up in my NetFlix queue once...but I was really deep into Breaking Bad at the time so I didn't get a chance to watch it.

Hi there. This is a very interesting idea for a book. I would like to ask how the Catholic community and church has treated these various woman? Have they been kicked out of the church but still call themselves nuns? I imagine these things have been covered in the book, but wanted to ask anyways. This is my first question and first time to use Reddit!

Welcome to Reddit! The response varies. These nuns are incredibly progressive. There are nuns out there who are still very conservative and they also do incredible work. I just didn't get the chance to work with those women, even though I would have liked to.

The Vatican has begun an investigation of American nuns because of their progressive actions. They have sent warning letters to the orders of some of the nuns. The women profiled in my book have not been excommunicated.