"Prisoner of Her Past " tells the story of a secret childhood trauma resurfacing, 60 years later, to unravel the life of Holocaust survivor Sonia Reich. The film follows her son, Chicago Tribune jazz critic Howard Reich, as he journeys across the United States and Eastern Europe to uncover why his mother believes the world is conspiring to kill her. Along the way, he finds a family he never knew he had. This film is the first to illuminate a little-known illness: late-onset Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The documentary examines the disorder's devastating effect on families, but also shows programs that are aiding young trauma survivors of Hurricane Katrina, in New Orleans, and how such early interventions may have helped Howard's mother.
