HEAVEN BY THE HEMS

Some women who return to the world after living as cloistered nuns seemingly develop a penchant to write a book which ""tells all"" of their experiences. A certain amount of bitterness often creeps into their accounts, and Marina de Berg's Heaven By the Hems is no exception. This former ballet dancer says of her life in a Trappistine Convent, ""My happiness lasted for two years and ten months"". Readers may wonder why it had to and at all if, as the author would have us believe, the end was due solely to the Order's negligence in supplying her with the proper medical care she so desperately needed. Miss de Berg does make a valiant effort to acquaint her readers with the joy, peace and beauty of a cloistered life, but these facets fail to seem as vivid as do the disciplines, penances and austerities of the daily routine in this most strict of all Women's Contemplative Orders. While this book will never merit the attention of The Nun's Story, it does seem to render a disservice to the thousands of nuns who remain cloistered for life never finding it necessary to parade its rigors for a curious audience.