"And the Truth Shall Set You Free."

My aunt Tina has always been the misfit of the family. When she was a child, she had to wear an eye patch for several months due to a problem with one of her eye muscles. Her classmates tormented her for it. Later, as a teenager, she suffered from a condition that caused excessive body odor. Once again, she found herself subjected to continuous ridicule by the kids at school. It is no surprise, therefore, that for most of her childhood and teenage life, she struggled with a poor self-image.

Experts say that pedophiles are very adept at singling out children like my aunt; that they ‘know’ the ones that are most susceptible to coercion by kindness. Whether or not Shelby, Tommy’s father, used kindness or threats to convince my aunt to participate in his perverted sexual fantasies, she won’t say. But there is no doubt that the experience, and what happened afterwards, solidified her self-perception as a loser and a misfit.

Long before the interview, I knew about my aunt’s experience and how her parents treated her when she finally told them the truth. What I didn’t know, or didn’t realize, was how ashamed she was of what had happened, and the degree to which she blamed herself.

One of the most difficult tasks we have as documentarians is interviewing people about the traumatic experiences they have endured. Even when the person is a family member, the job doesn’t get any easier. The initial intent in interviewing my aunt was to focus on her close relationship and memories of Tom, but it soon became evident that I would need to ask her about her experiences with Shelby. For one, it gave credence to the claim that Shelby was a pedophile. Second, it provided a counterpoint to my grandmother’s insistence that her husband had been the only one to blame for what had happened to her son.

I didn’t warn my Aunt that I would be asking her about the ordeal she suffered, or its effects on her personally. The reason I didn’t was that I wanted her answers to be spontaneous and from the heart, regardless of whether she answered the questions or not. That’s exactly what I got and it is some of the most compelling footage of the entire piece.

In many ways, the interview and film forced my aunt to face her past and to reconcile its negative influence on her life. She started going to therapy, and now feels a greater freedom to talk about what happened and the hardships she has had to overcome. And even though she would still say that she is “damaged goods”, the fact is that since the interview,  her opinion of herself has only improved. She now realizes that she was not to blame for what was done to her, nor does she need to bear that guilt anymore.