The Ear of the Heart: An Actress' Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows

Blurb

Dolores Hart stunned Hollywood in 1963, when after ten highly successful feature films, she chose to enter a contemplative monastery. Now, fifty years later, Mother Dolores gives this fascinating account of her life, with co-author and life-long friend, Richard DeNeut.

Dolores was a bright and beautiful college student when she made her film debut with Elvis Presley in Paramount's 1957 Loving You. She acted in nine more movies with other big stars such as Montgomery Clift, Anthony Quinn and Myrna Loy. She also gave a Tony-nominated performance in the Broadway play The Pleasure of His Company and appeared in two television shows, including The Virginian. A new chapter in her life occurred while playing Saint Clare in the movie Francis of Assisi, which was filmed on location in Italy.

Born Dolores Hicks to a complicated and colorful Chicago family, Mother Hart has traveled a charmed yet challenging road in her journey toward God, serenity and, yes, love. She entered the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Conn., at the peak of her career, not in order to leave the glamorous world of acting she had dreamed of since childhood, but in order to answer a mysterious summons she heard with the "ear of the heart". While contracted for another film and engaged to be married, she gave up everything to become a bride of Christ. Lavishly illustrated with 64 pages of photos.

"Listen and attend with the ear of your heart."
Saint Benedict

"Mother Dolores Hart is a remarkable woman with a remarkable story-one of love, devotion and faith."
--Maria Shriver, bestselling author of Just Who Will You Be?

"Read now for some lively insights from the girl who kissed Elvis in the movies to the Mother Superior who gets the last laugh in real life."
--Paula Prentiss, actress

"I have been privileged to be in the presence of this extraordinary woman, Mother Dolores. And now with her book, The Ear of the Heart, those of us who wondered why she chose such a path in life will discover the answer lies in the journey. This is a courageous adventure. It is a thriller."
--Richard Benjamin, actor and director

"Read this fascinating story to learn how what seems like running away', is in reality running to' Love."
--Maria Cooper Janis, daughter of Gary Cooper

"Mother Dolores Hart's life story is one of the most amazing I've ever read. It's as if she has taken you by the hand and invited you to join her on the most incredible ride. Pulling back the curtains on both Hollywood and the Cloister with no holds barred, she tells it like it is.' This is a real page-turner of an adventure filled with unexpected twists and turns, laughs and tears, highs and lows. And in the end, truly uplifting.
--Dan Goggin, Creator of the "Nunsense" Musicals

"Mother Dolores Hart's prose is a reflection of the inner beauty she has always possessed. A fascinating read... and read again!"
--Robert Evans, Film Producer

"The Ear of the Heart, like Dolores Hart herself, is Hollywood on the surface, but tough and deeply spiritual on the inside. It is the story of a remarkable woman, Dolores Hart, who guided by her inner goodness, sense of community, mission, and faith, rose to become a star of the silver screen, transformational prioress of the cloistered Benedictine abbey of Regina Laudis, and national spokesperson for the neuropathy association. It is an American biblical story for the modern age, and a good read to boot."
--Dr. Norman Latov Director, Peripheral Neuropathy Center, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York