Another Life is about the little secrets we keep pent up inside and our struggle to overcome them. Growing up in L.A., I saw this struggle all around me. Underneath all the glitz and glamour you see on TV, I saw the personal dramas kept quiet behind closed doors.

I saw my neighbor crawl into my backyard, overdosing on cocaine as my father held his hand before he died. I saw my third grade classmate throw rocks at my brother's head because he wanted to see what gushing blood looked like.

I saw families bottle up their pain and go on struggling in silence, certain that no one would understand them in sunny L.A. But my experiences cannot compare to the courage of a soldier who's returning from a war in Iraq to a country in recession -- a soldier who carries the weight of losing their friends in battle, certain that no one would understand them back home.

Another Life tells a real story about a woman who lives alone with her pain. But she is not alone. Every weekend, tens of millions of Americans go to the movies. Strangers come together, sit in the dark, and share their most private feelings with the image on a flickering screen.

After the lights come up, turn to those around you. Whatever pain you feel burdened with, you are not alone. Reach out and connect.

Nathan Ruegger

Photo courtesy of Isaiah Rhodes Inderrieden