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People heal in different ways. There is the strong and silent type, usually associated with men and then there is weeping, usually associated with women. Somewhere in-between lies a territory that combines strong, silent, weeping and a host of other emotions expressed physically and mentally and that is what you see in Jennifer Steinman’s documentary, Motherland. The title comes from one woman, who is part of a group traveling to Africa, and when she touches the soil, says she has come “to the Motherland.” It is a telling moment.

Statistics tell us that each year, eight million families around the world have the loss of a child. Director Jennifer Steinman has taken six American women who have lost children, many through violence, and transported the women to Africa. The idea is if you meet someone who has larger problems than you do, your situation may be smaller in comparison. Thus, we meet Mary (Racine, WI), Kathy (Santa Rosa, CA), Anne (San Francisco, CA), Barbara (Dixon, CA), Lauren (Oakland, CA) and Debbi (Windsor, CA). Their stories are moving and sad, as they tell of the circumstances surrounding the death of their children, ranging from suicide to motorcycle accident to gunshot victim. The children were in teens to late twenties and the stories are told in-between what is happening to the women on their 17-day African trip.

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