Portfolios: Life After Death: A Documentary of a Family

In August 2007, my sister Laura was murdered by her ex-husband in the home they shared with their two young sons. In an instant, her sons, ages two and four, became practical orphans, with one dead parent and another in police custody. The boys were shuttled through foster care at a time when they were fragile and confused, until Social Services could determine, with the approval of their only surviving parent, their father, where to place them on a more permanent basis. The situation required our family to fight the state of Colorado for five weeks until they were finally released to my parents in Seattle, Washington.

This documentary project began organically; a simple documentation of my nephews lives upon their arrival in Seattle. I now recognize that it also became a way for me to escape the grief that consumed me and crippled my creative work. As the years pass, I continue to document our family as the dynamic shifts, unfolds and ushers in revelations, celebrations, sadness and fear. My youngest and only living sister has moved in with our parents and shares the responsibility of raising Laura's boys.

I see my nephews several times a year, and I am amazed at their resilience. They are strong, loving boys with deep connections to those around them. But every once in a while I see one of them staring off in deep thought and I wonder what they're thinking. Or if they're remembering her.

This is a work in progress.

© 2011 Noelle Swan Gilbert