Dear Sister Helen,

I am a sixteen year old Catholic. Tonight I unexpectedly found a rerun on TV of a talk you gave at the University of Oregon School of Law in 2007. Listening to you speak tonight was a strong reminder that the Catholic Church can be a strong, compassionate, and truly “pro-life” force. I as reminded that Jesus’ teachings are as radical now as they were in the Bible. Human life is as precious now as it was when Jesus saved the adulterous woman from stoning and forgave her.

I also found your story of finding your calling unexpectedly reassuring. It’s a relief to hear that not every successful person had her life planned from elementary school.

The honesty with which you spoke about forgiveness, justice and transformative grace inspires me to take a more active peace making role in my community and, more difficultly, with people who fear or am angry with. Thank you for challenging me to love unconditionally and use my privileges to help those in need.

Sincerely,
Illeane

Hello,
My name is Katie and I am a student at the University of Colorado at Boulder.  I listened to you speak on Tuesday night and I have not stopped thinking about your talk since.  As many college students are, I find myself very lost and confused as to what I should be doing with my life. You said something that touched and inspired me.  I have spent countless nights awake trying to discover my place, attempting to plan my life.  Now I am not by any means implying that these conclusions were met Tuesday night, but my attitude has changed.  "the path is made by walking"  I cannot tell you how these words have effected me.  I understand that a life is made by living, not by planning.  I have no idea what it is that I am supposed to do but you have inspired me to be more active in my search.  To find what it is I can do to make a difference.  I am not sure this letter is making any sense at all but I would like to close by saying this. You have opened the eyes of so many through your book.  You inspired me in a single hour.  I would like to tell you how much I admire your ambition and how much I enjoyed your visit to our school.  If there is ever anything I can ever do to help you PLEASE let me know.   I have so much respect for you and I wish you all the luck in the world.  Thank you so much, again.

Best,
Katie

S Helen at the San Francisco Opera

Here's an example of one of the many praises the Austin Opera has been getting:

To Whom It May Concern:
Dead Man Walking was a very moving opera: excellent libretto, music, and acting/singing. I attended all four seminars - "Journey of DMW - From Book to Movie to Opera" - and found them stimulating, informative, and helpful in preparing for and then "debriefing" the opera. What a gift to the public!
Thank you -
Nancy Snyder

The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine
New York, New York

Dear Sister Helen,
What an extraordinary blessing it was to have you speak to us at the Cathedral on Nov. 6th! Your message was a witness both to the transforming power of God's grace in the lives of individuals - including your own - and to the "impossible burden" of the death penalty for all of us living in the United States today. Thank you for being with us.
Peace to you,
The Rev. Chloe Breyer

Dear Sister Helen,
I am writing on behalf of the University of Maryland in College Park to inform you that Dead Man Walking has been selected by a campus-wide committee of students, faculty, and staff as our First Year Book for the academic year 2003-2004. Each year, all first year students are gifted a book from the University which they read and discuss in selected classes across our campus. We anticipate 4500 first year students in the coming academic year. Your publisher, Random House, with whom we have worked in the past, will be doing a special printing of Dead Man Walking for our campus. The committee that selected your book believed that it was particularly relevant to current debates on capital punishment in the State of Maryland and to faculty research initiatives on campus.

Sincerely yours,
Phyllis Peres
Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies