Faith & Reason Fall Issue, 2014 | Page 4

Ron Sartini Photography DAWN EDEN: FROM ROCK ’N’ ROLL TO THE THRILL OF THE CHASTE Br. Luke Hoyt, O.P. One day in 1995, rock historian Dawn Eden was interviewing a musician. During the conversation, the interviewee mentioned that he was reading a book by the Catholic author G.K. Chesterton. Her curiosity piqued, Ms. Eden, an agnostic at the time, gave the book a read. This marked the beginning of a journey of faith that would eventually lead to the Catholic Church. Soon after her conversion, Ms. Eden decided to obtain a master’s degree in theology. Her heart was set on the PFIC. “Inspired by the writings of the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, I decided to get a Thomistic education,” she says. “The PFIC at the Dominican House of Studies was a natural choice.” Faith & Reason - Fall 2014 Ms. Eden continued her studies at the PFIC, receiving an S.T.B. in 2013 and an S.T.L. this past spring. She has spoken extensively and has written two books, The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On (Thomas Nelson, 2006) and My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints (Ave Maria Press, 2012). Fr. James Brent, O.P. (MDiv, STB ’09), Director of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity, is among those who have given her work high praise: “For anyone who has suffered from sexual abuse, My Peace I Give You is a must read. In my opinion, anyone who suffers from the wounds of sexual sin in any way whatsoever will also find in this book a powerful aid for healing and renewal.” Inspired by the writings of the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, I decided to get a Thomistic education. The PFIC at the Dominican House of Studies was a natural choice. Ms. Eden, who is now pursuing her S.T.D. at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, is grateful for how the PFIC rooted her in the intellectual tradition of the Faith. “My theology professors never spoke of academic research as though it were something apart from the life of faith,” she says. “That’s one of the greatest blessings of studying at the PFIC: being taught by professors who teach by example what is meant by thinking with the Church.” The PFIC is the place