Powerful

Awesome Movie

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Susan Tom is a hero. I don't know of any one who would willingly adopt 11 kids, a majority whom are special needs. The children to the outside world were looked at as different, but this documentary caught their true selves. There's Margaret. A dream daughter. Her life is school and helping her mother and doing it willingly. There's Anthony, who recently passed, a sweet 19 year old boy with EB, who went through a life of pain but seemed full of spirit. There's Joe, who also passed, who had cystic fibrosis who pushed his family away because he loved them too much to get attached if he left. There's Xenia, born without legs but born with happiness and comfort. There's Hannah, who also has no legs but is born to have fun. And there's the adorable Faith who has burn scars all over her face that doesn't mask her intelligence. I forgot the names of the other ones, but are children that anyone would want.Susan goes through up and downs in her life. From Joe's mood swings and illness, to Anthony's pain and illness, to Faith being teased, to Xenia getting a boyfriend, to Margaret's home and school depression, to Joe's biological mom moving away, then ultimately to Joe passing away from his illness, after her daughter Susie, who also had EB, died years before.Then at the end, the family gets together and celebrates Anthony's 20th birthday party.The family goes from bad times but doesn't let that get in the way of the good to come.From the words of Faith. "Everybody's gotta have faith!" Rest in Peace, Anthony, Susie, and Joe Tom.

I thought that it was a very important film. I think that it showed that Susan is very open to taking these beautiful children in, and it also showed that she is human and has problems. I think that it was very important of the film makers to put in the scene with her mother and how the grandmother said that she was never good with her children and never told them that she loved them. It also touched that Susan is lonely. I give her so much credit to have taken in these children and hopefully giving them a sense of family. I feel that Margret has been given a very difficult life, and I hope that she is able to be a young woman. Anthony haunted me, what a brave beautiful man that I hope can live without fear of death. I thought that Joe was so full of anger, and fear and it was sad that he went on, but I thought that his biological mother and new father being absent at his funeral was the most tragic of all. The fact that the woman has 8 children and not one lives with her is awful. When they shipped his ashes uninsured it was just telling of the real situation with all these true human beings, the fact that Margret had to do it, was in telling in itself. I just wish each and everyone of them all the best.

Having worked in the fostercare system for several years, I have come across more than one "Ms. Tom" who accumulate disabled children because the states pays a lot more for them than able bodied children. These "mothers" get more and more children for more and more money. The adoptive mothers ability to truly care for these children is impeded by the fact that there are so many of them. Even if the mothers are able to fake concern over the children's plight, they are always comforted by the fact that the children are replaceable -- there's always another sad case in the foster care system. From my point of view, this was a haunting documentary of medical warehousing for children -- their medical needs were taken care of while their emotional needs were ignored or shunted to other hired caregivers. It is unfortunate that the financial reality was not addressed in this picture. This woman is not a saint. And this family is plagued by her indifference to the true feelings of the children. But I recommend the movie. So sad. And so real about how disabled children are treated.

I am so glad I agreed to see this; it is so much more than what it appears! This is an amazing film that kept me spellbound from beginning to the very end and is the kind of film that stays with you afterwards. The audience stood up and clapped after it ended, which is pretty remarkable. This is what filmmaking is all about and this is why we go to movies. This should be get an Academy Award nomination. It doesn't get better than this.