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

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 YorkReview"What a joy to be in the company of Mother Dolores Hart. She is a compassionate narrator, from her childhood days, darkened by parental alcoholism, to her Hollywood career and her calling as a Catholic nun. Mother Dolores talks candidly about the difficulty of becoming a cloistered, Benedictine nun. The struggle with years of discipline and the rigorous farm work at the Abbey of Regina Laudis. We learn there was something in her deepest heart she sought." ----Pia Lindstrom, television journalist, daughter of Ingrid Bergman"The Ear of the Heart is a story of courage, sacrifice, dedication, and fulfillment. With grace and good humor in a voice as clear as the mountain spring, Mother Dolores Hart illuminates her lifelong quest for a state of tranquility and the joy of living in the presence of God.The book will lift your heart and mind in admiration. A call to a religious life is filled with mystery and wonder and at long last understanding and acceptance. Mother Dolores Hart shows us with her energy, word, and deed that her journey has led her to a live she could not have lived any other way. The truths she has found for herself resonate like the bells of the morning." ----James Drury,The Virginian"A beautiful movie star gives up a successful Hollywood career to enter a traditional cloistered monastery. Can't happen? It did. In this heartfelt and moving memoir, Mother Dolores Hart explains how by listening with the 'ear of the heart' she heard God's call and dared to respond. Her journey powerfully demonstrates that we must be willing to lose our lives and forfeit our plans to discover our true purpose. The fascinating story of Dolores Hart also teaches us to be seek God regardless of where we are-in a summer storm, in prayer, or even in front of a camera." ----Raymond Arroyo, New York Times Bestselling Author, Host of The World Over Live and EWTN News Director