When we turn away from tragedy, and try to pretend it never happened, the effects can be profound. Filmmaker Judith Helfand joins me on Episode 21 of Healing People, Not Patients to talk about the conspiracy of silence that sprung up in her family after her Aunt Ethel, age 12, died suddenly during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Judith didn’t even know about Ethel until she discovered a sepia-toned photograph and said, “Who’s this little girl that looks like me?” The clip describes how the willful silence that her Bubbe Sarah kept in order to cope, grew into a decades-long, whole family effort to keep Bubbe from ever getting sad again. You can hear the whole interview here.
Ethel’s story is the subject of Judith’s new film project, Good Mourning, Ethel. She’s working to raise funds to bring it across the finish line. If you’re interested in helping, click here to view the trailer and make a donation.
