Take Me Home Holds Microscope to Healthcare, Disability and Adoption

Unexpected loss of a loved one can either tear a family part or bring them closer together.  When my father passed away it changed the dynamic of my family forever.  But, how does one navigate all of this when parents are physically, mentally challenged and the youngest child is autistic?

Expanded from Liz Sargent’s acclaimed short (2023 Sundance Film Festival), Take Me Home examines the shifting demands placed on a uniquely vulnerable family while detailing the struggles of Anna (Anna Sargent, the director’s sister), fellow adopted sibling Emily (Ali Ahn), and devoted father Bob (Victor Slezak), who is succumbing to dementia.

Not only does Liz Sargent blow the lid off of the challenges surrounding caregiving surrounded around dementia and autism, but she exposes the inequalities of the healthcare system when it comes to those on a fixed budget (ie Medicare, Medicaid).

What struck me to my core is the patience one institutes when a loved one is challenged.  Anna has to figure out how to look out for herself and Dad.  Emily is thrust back into a stressful life she fled in Florida , as it takes more mental energy than she is able to exude on any given day.  Caregiving is a gentle balance of deciding to become completely unselfish for selfish for the sake of one’s sanity.  Many times you grieve for a life that often times feels like it s not your own. Yet, regardless of what side of the coin you choose, one never loses sight these decisions are always rooted in love.  Love for oneself and love for family, which ebbs and flows on any given day.

There’s also the issue of adoption.  At one point, Emily asks Bob, why would you adopt a disabled child?  His answer was simple.  Why not…we have a lot of love to give. Love can make you crazy, euphoric or force you to become the best human being possible by loving someone most would view as problematic.  Love can never be underestimated.

On a lighter note, watching Anna vibe with a neighbor shooting hoops, getting caught watching porn by her Dad and sister and the sweet sibling moments are incredibly enchanting, yet real when it comes to tracking the life of a 38 year old who just happens to be autistic.

Writer/Director Liz Sargent’s intimate debut drama confronts us with an impossible situation, while holding out hope for Anna’s future.  A future that could easily have been discarded and misused had it not been for infinite love of those you are related to and chosen family.