- Two women in love are surviving the demands of a closeted military career when one is forced to expel an Army hero for being a lesbian. The way she does it, however, leads to re-instatement and eventual change in U.S. military policy.
- Years before Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Colonel Patsy Thompson presided over the review board that dismissed Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer for being a lesbian. Although she had been in tough spots over the course of her 28-year service, this was the toughest. Presiding over this case forced Patsy to confront her own moral dilemma and her own secret: she too was a lesbian.
Margarethe Cammermeyer, a highly-decorated nurse and war hero, was on track to becoming a general. During a security clearance interview, she truthfully answered when asked if she was a lesbian. This started an investigation which led to her eventual and highly-publicized expulsion from the Army National Guard. In 1995, Margarethe's memoir was adapted as a television movie, which was executive-produced by Barbra Streisand and starred Glenn Close. But Patsy's story has remained a secret...until now.
In addition to revealing history, Surviving the Silence explores the years before Patsy would be forced to preside over Margarethe's military trial: the traditions that influence her, the experiences that shape her, and the moral code that determines the inevitability of her decision. She and her now-wife Barbara Brass candidly share how they wrestled with heart-wrenching choices in public and in private, hiding their relationship, speaking in code on the phone and struggling to protect their love while preserving Patsy's career - and, how they emerged from the closet to become vibrant activists later in life.
An emotive human, cultural and political story of integrity, fear, resilience, courage and love emerges through elegantly interwoven narratives, saturated with evocative visual social and historical contexts. Surviving the Silence is a coming out story like no other, deeply moving, troubling, revealing of unknown, policy-changing history - and powerfully inspirational.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
Top Gap
By what name was Surviving the Silence (2020) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer