Great Photo, Lovely Life

Was glued to the TV watching this documentary. It's the first time I have watched a show about family members abusing other family members. It's a discussion that usually doesn't happen in families. These ladies faced it in their family head on. Because of the time lapse of the abuse, memories, in some instances, were from so many years ago but very vivid. The bravery of the ladies to dig deep is admirable. The Grandfather, in my opinion, didn't grasp the severity of what his actions did to the people he abused. His words rang hollow to me. Granted he was close to dying but, his words centered more on how he is going to be greeted upon his death. Recently, I learned my Father tried to abuse his Granddaughters when they were preteens. His actions repulsed me. He has been gone for many years but he was never confronted. Thank you for sharing your experience. I admire you for doing this in a public setting. Hopefully it will start discussion's in families that are currently dealing with this issue.

What was the purpose? He didnt went to jail again, noone got closure, no laws were changed, he wasnt even confronted the right way, the family didnt heal and he even did his thing one last time in his final days! We can excuse everything with creating "awareness" but its just too trivial in my opinion. I feel she used his whole family suffering to create this documentary. There we're too many shots where she was the "movie star". I know it wasnt an easy documentary to create because of the emocional connection, but i think that affected the whole project. Im just happy it ended.

The topic behind this piece is really serious and has to be talked about (or screamed) but in some points it was just the excuse to show drama.

From a technical stand point i really likes the cinematography and the edition, it makes you feel a lot of things and that is what art is supposed to do.

I cant rate this.

I am a survivor of abuse, and the family dynamic that was captured in this documentary was all too familiar to me. I also have heard stories from fellow survivors that are almost verbatim. It is wild to me just how similarly these events transpire but often they are covered up or explained away. I personally never got the same closure when confronting my abusers as the subjects did in this film. I'm encouraged and impressed that these people were able to be so transparent and vulnerable and willing to confront the truths of what happened to them, and maintain their relationships. It's my great hope that films like this are a cultural tipping point towards accountability and true justice.

A loving granddaughter explores the terror unleashed for decades on defenseless children by her twisted, sick grandfather and what the aftermath has done to the family as it drips down over generations. While the film usually takes too lenient a view of the monster/subject's enabling wife, it still manages to make clear that predators such as these are rarely able to wreak their havoc without support, and that anyone who provides it DOES bear responsibility. The "Christianity" displayed in the film is both maddening and sad. Little wonder the filmmaker abandoned her faith given the totally warped way it is understood, practiced, and weaponized by those around her. I hope she one day encounters true Christianity, which does not sweep sin under the rug or flog victims with religiosity, but loves and pursues true justice. Bill exhibited no signs of true remorse or repentance in the film, and hearing him invoke God's name was nauseating. In any case, his days of getting away with anything are surely over now. I hope those he left in shambles find true peace.

I'm floored, disturbed, angry, and in utter dismay after seeing this. The bravery needed to tell this story must have been insurmountable. Endless gratitude to Amanda for doing this work and to her sister, mother, and all her grandfather's victims for surviving it.

The unending forgiveness and gifts of contact & affection, even still calling him "Grampa" instead of just "Bill" left me disgusted. It was a reminder at how skewed religion can make us in regard to the forgiveness aspect.

But I have no theory on the contact and affection. Only resentment. I'm sure it must have been difficult and complicated, but it made me angry that he got to experience the joy and love of having his family in his life when he clearly didn't deserve to.

Everyone should see this film, especially if you live with "a secret you shouldn't have to keep".