Who Are the DeBolts and Where Did They Get 19 Kids?
Directed by John Korty
Written by Janet Peoples
1977/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
The only disability in life is a bad attitude. — Scott Hamilton
If you need to feel lifted up, you could not do better than this documentary.
Bob and Dorothy DeBolt had children of their own but room in their hearts for more. They adopted the ones that needed them most – severely disabled children, many from war torn backgrounds. We get an inside view of their unusual household. It’s sort of a well disciplined mayhem with plenty of laughing and singing. The parents help the kids surpass their limitations and the kids help each other in the same way.
This is an excellent and engrossing documentary. It felt so good to watch something with truly kind people behaving lovingly to each other. Highly recommended.
Who Are the DeBolts and Where Did They Get 19 Kids? won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
