Grace Notes

About this book

"Ever since I was 10 years old Id felt myself yearning to go astray. For me that didnt mean drinking and cavorting with boys; it meant being myself without fear."from the book What happens when a trained singer who grew up in a "house of vowels" finds that her voice is not her own? What happens when a woman loses the Mormon faith of her childhood and abandons the rituals shes always known? What does a woman already married for thirteen years by her early thirties do when she realizes she has been "lying for years?" How does one sing with grace from the heart? In the spirit of Mary Catherine Batesons Composing a Life and Kathleen Norriss Cloister Walk Heidi Harts luminous memoir retraces her search for an opening to her hearts path. She finds that the religious life of her Latter-day Saint familywhich includes a revered General Authorityrobs her of her voice and her spirit. When she discovers Catharine a mute Quaker ancestor Hart begins a vital journeya journey blessed by her devout and devoted husband; a journey that leads her as she studies Zuni mythology Jewish tradition Benedictine monastic ritual Emily Dickinson and Saint Hildegard of Bingena journey that leads her to a place that feels like home: the company of Friends the Quaker community of Salt Lake City. With grace and lyricism Hart shares the private personal wisdom she has earned in her community of friends a community that embraces silences and dissonance a place where she cant keep from singing.