Marathon Bombing Survivors Share Stories Of Healing In New Documentary
BOSTON (CBS) – Hundreds turned out for the Boston premiere of a new documentary about the marathon bombings Tuesday night. Three resilient families who star in the film are the survivors themselves.
There were hugs shared among the survivors, whose lives since the blast will now hit the screen for all to see.
"We think it's really important not just to show people snapshots of recovery but the whole trajectory of it," said Patrick Downes. "And that's far more complicated but it's real."
Amputee Patrick Downes and his now double amputee wife Jessica are among the three families intimately tracked by the HBO documentary which will air next week.
"It's sad, it's tragic, it's powerful, it's funny at times," Downes said, "because the recovery at times is all of those things."
Celeste Corcoran lost her legs that April day and her daughter Sydney was badly hurt. Both admit to thinking long and hard about the public eye peering deep into their souls.
"It's kind of scary when you first get asked and you first sign on because you have no control over what the finished product's going to be," Celeste Corcoran said.
But they agreed to it, convinced their shared healing was helping others understand.
"I think that this did a really good job of showing what terrorism looks like and how life goes on after it and it's really raw and I think it's very powerful that way," Sydney Corcoran said.
In fact, the documentary makers believe Bostonians provided the model for how people should react to terrorism. JP Norden and his brother both lost a leg. "For me I decided a long time ago that I was going forward and I wasn't going to think about that day or anything and that's what I do," Norden said.
Downes hopes viewers will find power in his story, even as he struggles to get his own arms around it.
"It's very surreal," Downes said. "It's a reminder of how long this journey has been, how complicated it's been."
The documentary "Marathon: The Patriot's Day Bombing" will debut November 21 on HBO.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports