Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? - A popular actress with a bright future leaves her Hollywood career to become a nun.

It's 1990, and Lu Tibbott needs a compelling topic for her senior thesis to complete her college education. She decides to ask her Aunt Lori if she can write about her life. Aunt Lori is Lori Lovely, the former actress who left it all to become a Benedictine nun. Lori, now the Mother Abbess, agrees to be interviewed and reveal things to Lu that she has kept hidden. Lori's story is told in alternating timelines beginning in 1964 when the teenage Lucy Hickey, raised in North Carolina, moves to New York City and lands a small part in a movie. This leads to a move to London to study acting, and she soon secures the leading role in a musical alongside singer Lucas Wesley. The pair quickly becomes the country's most popular on-screen pair, and everything looked bright for Lori, whose name had been changed. Lu is eager to learn what prompted Lori to make such a drastic life change and enter a cloistered monastery. 

Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? is Sara McCoy's engaging story of a young woman who chooses a life of faith over fame and fortune. The story was inspired by several real-life actresses, including Dolores Hart, who left a successful film career in 1963 to become a nun. Hart's debut film, released in 1957, was Loving You, which starred Elvis Presley. Although the character of Lucas is not Presley, there are many similarities. I was drawn to the parts devoted to the making of Lori's movies, as well as the realization of her vocation after visiting the Abbey in Connecticut, which later became her home. This is a good choice for fans of stories centered around moviemaking during this period. 

Many thanks to William Morrow for the advance copy.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars.

Historical Fiction.

Publication Date: September 2, 2025.

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