Overview: In 'The Family I Had', a mother recalls how her brilliant teenage son came to shatter their idyllic family through one horribly violent and shocking act. Now, left to pick up the pieces, the survivors test the boundaries of their newly defined reality in this moving true crime exploration of the nature and limits of familial love.

DVD Verdict: It has to be said that 'The Family I Had' (by Katie Green & Carlye Rubin) is one of the most sorrowfully haunting real life tales that I've ever undertaken to review.

This haunting and thought-provoking documentary provides insight into an impossible situation where a family subsequently finds itself after a tragic murder of one underage sibling by another

Again, this is a very difficult story to watch and know that it actually happened, and some people will find it very hard to have empathy for the people in the story. But my guess is the director and writer actually tried their hardest to approach the screenplay this from a place of empathy for everyone, regardless of what they subsequently did.

Indeed, the documentary, in my opinion, is actually made all the more interesting because it does not fall into the trap of trying to provide a false Hollywood closure; especially here where there just simply cannot be one.

In closing, I believe that this film will start many a conversation about juvenile justice, about mental health, about storytelling, about trauma, and about how trauma is passed down through generations. 'The Family I Had' is highly recommended, if not for all that. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.