The El Dorado Times

D.A. Chadwick and co-author Mary Donnelly are consulted regarding the new CD collection of Soeur Sourire by Choice of Music.

     Local writer, D.A. Chadwick of El Dorado and her co-author, M.C. Donnelly of Chicago were contacted by Choice of Music in Norderstedt, Germany in order to provide biographical information for a new double CD collection of the songs of Soeur Sourire AKA, The Singing Nun. Soeur Sourire topped the charts in 1963 with her hit, ‘Dominique’.
     In the course of doing research for their English language biography of Jeannine Deckers (Soeur Sourire) the two writers were asked by Jutta Mohlenbeck of Choice of Music for their assistance in critiquing the proposed cover design, providing biographical information and for their input on the contents of the collection. “It is the most complete collection yet available and includes a wonderful video clip of Soeur Sourire singing the disco version of Dominique in 1982, just three years before her tragic suicide.” Says Chadwick the author of five other books.
     The whole exciting experience began when Chadwick ordered a French language biography of Soeur Sourire by Florence Delaport in 1999. “As I translated the book, I decided to share information with other American fans of Soeur Sourire and began a web site entitled, Soeur Sourire; The Singing Nun. The requests for information were overwhelming and I decided to write an English language biography of Jeannine Deckers. I met Mary Donnelly through the email group, The Singing Nun, of which I was co-moderator. With Mary’s seventeen years of experience as a research librarian I invited her to be co-author and editor. We are very enthusiastic about providing Americans with the true story of Jeannine Deckers, which was very different from the sugar-coated fantasy of the movie starring Debbie Reynolds in 1966.
     It was Jeannine’s last wish that her story be told and while there are two French biographies on Soeur Sourire, there is very little information available in English. The new CD collection, Soeur Sourire, is a fantastic tribute to a complicated, haunted singer who lost her battle with depression and life in 1985.
     Currently, the collection is only available on line at http://www.choice-of-music.com and is a limited edition. Also, please visit the Singing Nun website for additional information on Soeur Sourire and the book in progress at http://deckers66.homestead.com. Chadwick and Donnelly are extremely honored to be included in the production of such an outstanding collection of music.