Educational Media Reviews Online

This film skillfully mixes personal narrative with animation, photographs, video segments, and moving original music to share the story of 13-year old Brett Blake who describes how he coped with the loss of his mother to breast cancer when he was 10. Produced as "a documentary tale of love, loss, and life anew…" Brett creates this film to help people-help children understand grief better, help parents to understand children who are grieving, and to help people be more informed about loss and grief. Brett says "this film is not just about my mother dying-it's about a life, a love, and just going on and being helped."

The video shares the life of Brett before his mother's death and shows his profound understanding of loss and grief. Although only 13, Brett's expressiveness throughout the narrative provides a thoughtful presentation that is instructive, and insightful with mature understanding. He illustrates how as the press release states that "with the right support, individuals can survive and grow through the most tragic of circumstances." With the help of his adoptive mother, Lori Hope, he has accomplished his desire to share his story and to help people be more informed about grief and loss.

The video quality is excellent with the change of sequences from animation and still photographs smoothly done. The original music appropriately highlights the narrative to convey expression and feeling. This is a valuable resource for collections on grieving and loss, and for persons caring for or providing emotional support for persons experiencing loss and grief. There is special value for young people dealing with loss, although the distributor recommends that adults discuss the content with young people before viewing. Highly recommended for all libraries and especially for public libraries and university libraries with collections featuring grief and loss.

Highly Recommended