Share Your Story
51 Birch Street and the story of the Block family has had a powerful impact on audiences all over the world. Now we invite you to share your personal reaction to the film, and how it hit home for you regarding your own family.
Marlys Weis (age 65)
I believe in diaries and journals – as they helped me keep my sanity! When I was 12 years old, my stepfather said I had to “make it up” to him for the fact that my mother didn’t love him, so it was my responsibility to replace her in his affections. I learned to never be alone with him and how to manipulate situations, but I didn’t tell my mother. I instinctively knew the pain it would cause her, and I wanted to protect her from it. My father had died when I was two years old, and she was…
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rob de jongh (age 42)
Dear people, It’s after midnight, April 5th, Amsterdam. I just saw your film on the
Belgian TV and I realized these days I can contact the maker by internet. So
that’s what I’m doing now before I go to bed.
I’d like to express my gratitude for the film and I believe it is of great
value for those who are willing to change the way they see their parents,
whether they’re alive or dead.
Me myself I lost my mother 11 years ago, didn’t have…
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Lea Register (age 60)
Even though I’ve never seen the film, I have read many of the stories on this site.
I suppose the one thing that stands out about my parents and when I became the ‘parent’ is when my father died. He was only 52 when he died. He and my mother had been married for twenty nine years; I was twenty seven at the time. As an only child, all responsibilities feel on me. At first I just didn’t understand and only ‘reacted’ to actions that took place: my mother had a nervous breakdown and tried to commit suicide,…
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Nikki (age 19)
Hi there! I seem to have stepped into this site a little late, however I just saw that this movie was coming to Boise this Friday, so I’m not even sure if anyone will see this since it’s so late =P Anyway my story is not quite the same as most and it’s not exactly finished as you all see i’m only 19. It appears that most who have shared their stories are much older and have their own families. Like I said mine is not over whatsoever but so far seems to be quite a trip. …
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Art Schultz (age 48)
I attended my first ever independent film screening Saturday night at the Flicks in Boise, Idaho. Mostly out of curiosity, partially because of my involvement as a board member of the PIX Theater Foundation, in Nampa, Idaho and the Foundation’s desire to include independent films as part of it’s future venue. And partially out of response to a write up about this particular independent film in the Idaho Statesman.
The film is called “51 Birch Street”, filmed, documented and narrated by Doug Block.
Never having previously attended an independent film screening, or…
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Valerie Matthis (age 53)
Mom lead me on. She did this for the first 18 years of my life. Then one day she admitted that the man who I thought was my father, wasn’t. I felt so betrayed after her confession. I wish that I could say that the situation brought us closer, but it didn’t; there was always a bit of unspoken tension between us. Shortly before her death, Mom started confessing things nonstop; I can honestly say that I guess that I never really knew her. Then there was the matter of her personal effects that told of a life that was…
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Barbara McMahon (age 60)
As children, my sibblings and I all heard the stories of how my parents met and my oldest sister’s early arrival, 7 months after their marriage. Of course she was premature, an early delivery. My parents were as different as night and day. My father had recently joinned the Navy in 1944 and was a poor farmer’s son from Illinois. My mother’s father was a doctor and she had been brought up with maids and private schools and most of the better things in life. Needless to say their marriage was a rocky one and as children we often witnessed…
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boomer (age 50)
My mom passed away nine years ago. We grew up in a small, Catholic town. My parents were married 25 years, and during that time, my dad carried on an affair for about 21 of those years-a relationship that produced a child. My mom had one for the last few years of the marriage that continued until her death 21 years after the divorce.
I was aware of Mom’s affair early on, but had no idea that it lasted the rest of her life. Another family member new, and thought I was aware of it. I didn’t learn…
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millie rivera (age 50)
i am also a journal keeper, have kept track of my life from a young bride of 19 until the present. a menopausal woman still married to her prince charming whom has developed a paunch and jowls to match. 32 years of trials and tribulation. my journals are my intimate friends. within these pages are thoughts, feelings, my life in progress. recently, my coworker expressed an opinion that she would not want her children to know ‘the bad things’ about her life, especially her marriage. is she correct? am i leaving a shattered glass for my children?? should they know…
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Steve Holmes (age 49)
This is not a dramatic story as some here have been. Rather, a subtle evolution in the relationship with my mother. We’re still parent and child, of course, and I’ve found out that moms never stop worrying about their offspring, even as the kids start to get membership invitations from AARP. The relationship has deepened into friendship, in which she feels free to confide her concerns and seems to respect, take to heart and even act upon my advice. If this were a film, it would need a plot twist, an “ah-ha” moment that sends things off in…
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