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ARC for review. To be published September 2, 2025.

3 stars

In 1969, 23 year old starlet Lori Lovely (what a terrible stage name. I winced when she and whomever came up with it.) gave Hollywood a big shock when she swore off its glitz and glamour to take her vows as a Benedictine nun. Why would an up and coming actress who had already had one role for the ages do such a thing? Was she on the run? Unlucky in love?

In 1990, Lu Tibbott is being forced to complete her college senior thesis in modern American history and decides to write about her Aunt Lori, now the Mother Abbess at a cloistered convert in rural Connecticut. Lori has always refused interviews but she can’t say no to her niece and she’s finally ready to reveal all.

Obviously this book is heavily based on the life of Delores Hart, to whom it is dedicated and in reading the afterward the reader learns that the author had a lengthy, multi-year correspondence with Hart and became very close to her, so my guess is that if you want the story in a fictionalized form, this is the book to read (however, I THINK Hart either wrote or collaborated on a non-fiction book, so, you know, if you want truth�). In addition, parts of this book also draw from the real life experiences of actress Olivia Hussey, who starred in “Romeo and Juliet.�

Also, if this book interests you, let me toot the horn of�.myself and suggest that you not read any other synopsis of this book, maybe including the one here on GR and possibly on the back of the book, because the one that accompanied the ARC gave away a major spoiler that I would just as soon not have known, and there was absolutely no reason to disclose it. So, you are to read nothing about this book in advance other than my non-spoilering review! Just like your mama told you, keep yourself pure!

The book itself was fine. Someone in the middle of it called it something like “wholesome� and that’s a pretty good description. This description pre-dates me, but it is what I image the Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland movies were like. Good ol� family entertainment, then no one ever has sex! Yay! No, really, I liked it fine.