Jyoti Thottam’s book shares the lives of six Sisters who traveled from Kentucky to India to establish a hospital more than seven decades back.
Indian –American author and journalist Jyoti Thottam was awarded the 74th Christopher Award for her book “Sisters of Mokama- The Pioneering Women Who Brought Hope and Healing to India” (Viking/Penguin Random House).
Her book highlights the story of the six Sisters of Charity of Nazareth nuns who established Nazareth Hospital in Mokama, Bihar. In 1947 the sisters served everyone, regardless of caste or religion, and offered new opportunities to women there looking to pursue careers in the medical field, according to the book release. Thottam’s mother was part of an extraordinary group of Indian women who challenged the odds and travelled to Bihar to train to be a nurse at Nazareth Hospital.
Fascinated by her mother’s inspiring journey, Thottam researched Nazareth Hospital and authored the book Sisters of Mokama, the release added.
The New York Times editor Thottam was Times South Asia Bureau Chief in New Delhi from 2008 to 2012, where she wrote numerous cover stories, including award-winning stories about the Ganges River and the Mumbai terrorist attacks, her profile shared.
India-born Thottam grew up in Texas and graduated from Yale and Columbia. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, her profile shared.
The Christophers is a nonprofit founded in 1945 by Maryknoll’s Father James Keller. The Christopher Awards celebrate writers, producers, directors, authors, and illustrators whose work affirms the highest values of the human spirit and reflects the Christopher motto.
