recommended

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I am a foster mother of special needs children and, trust me, it is no walk in the park. This documentary was suggested to me because of some issues we are having with a foster child right now. It changed the way that I looked at my situation. This mother is the most giving, comforting mom I have seen.I suggest this movie to anyone, especially if you are fostering. It covers so many topics that we deal with every day such as dealing with social workers, medical issues, attitudes towards children and giving children a normal life style regardless of set-backs for them.And, to anyone who mentions that she exploits these children, you are crazy. She gave every child the choice to have their story told and the stories you see are the only ones that accepted that. Also, the director reached out to her about this project - not the opposite. Anyone in foster care knows that you do this for the kids, not for the money.Thank you to everyone who participated in this project. It will never be forgotten.

This was a great documentary i was flipping around in the "on demand doc." section and i found it checked it out and fell in love with most of the characters . One thing that bothered me though is that they ended with Anthony's birthday then just finished it(i know Susan didn't let them film any longer) also they went through part of it not saying anything then suddenly Susan's face appears on the screen and tells what happened (we could have figured that out on our own thank you) i cried lots but a great film !!!!:) also i would advise any one who is either emotional or cant watch medical shows (due to weak stomach) not to watch this film!!

Effective documentary about a marginalized woman (Susan Tom) who is raising some of the most unfortunate but extraordinary children you will ever encounter. Some are severely burnt (Faith). One has cystic fibrosis (Joe), and a bunch of complex personal problems. Several are limbless. The list goes on. The children are a handful, but Susan's unlimited reserve of strength and compassion is what has given these children meaningful lives.Susan isn't always depicted beneath her saintly halo. In one scene, she, like any human being, loses her patience with her birth daughter and comes across as harsh. In others, she fights exhaustion. The film is about Susan, but it is also about her charges and their own personal struggles to simply survive. Some of the episodes we're shown are pretty heartbreaking and one boy's struggle to live (Anthony) is so horrible you can only marvel at his tenacity.The film has a no-nonsense tone and never becomes too tabloid or too much of a freak show (which would have been highly inappropriate under the circumstances). Director Jonathan Karsh sprinkles a little visual poetry on the pictures and employs an occasional voice-over.Strong stuff. And fascinating.

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.