About the Film

In 2004, Jason Crigler’s life was taking off. He was one of New York’s hottest young guitarists, his new CD was due for release and his wife, Monica, was pregnant with their first child. Then, at a gig in Manhattan, Jason suffered a near-fatal brain hemorrhage. His doctors doubted he would ever emerge from his near-vegetative state. The astonishing journey that followed, documented by friend and filmmaker Eric Daniel Metzgar (The Chances of the World Changing, POV 2007), is a stirring family saga and a portrait of creative struggle in the face of overwhelming tragedy. To see a trailer and read more about the film, visit: http://www.lifesupportmusic.org/

To read more about Jason Crigler and see how he is helping victims of stroke, visit: http://www.defyingtheodds.net/

About the Director

It was many months later that the Criglers called me and said, “We were going to write a book about this whole saga, but we think a documentary might be better. Are you interested?”

Of course I was. For months, I’d been in the email loop, receiving occasional updates about Jason’s condition, Monica’s pregnancy, the surgeries, the setbacks, and all the other aching news. But these updates, sent by the Criglers to their vast web of friends, were more than just informational. They were illuminated by the family’s intense optimism. There was an incandescent love in these letters, in these people. This misfortune, it seemed, had created, or uncovered, something splendid.

That, I thought, will be the story. Amidst the heaps of suffering, I’ll focus on this beautiful and shining optimism. I’ll search for the source of the family’s strength, the seed of their unwavering faith. This will be a love story.

Of course, I underestimated the entire thing. – Eric Daniel Metzgar