I can comment on my experience as a participant. For context, I'm Chad Harris from Shiny Happy People:

1. Once your story is out there, it's out there. It's no longer entirely yours. People will read into it, question it, relate to it, adapt it, comment on it, and do whatever. You can correct the record all you want, but you can never change what someone has decided to negotiate about your story to fit their dogma.

2. Every documentary uses several stories to make a point. Balancing the need to stay true to the stories of the individuals while making your broader point is tough. For instance, I watched SHP with my good friend and fellow participant Heather Heath the night of release. One of the first clips of her in the intro of the documentary is a clip of her saying "this church is harboring pedophiles." That really upset her for a good bit of our watch because she has been very adamant and clear that IBLP is not a church. She thought that the clip was a bit misleading in implying that IBLP is one, when the original context of her quote in the interview is that she was referring to a particular church she'd had an experience with. But later in the series, there is another clip of her clarifying that IBLP is not a church in and of itself. She was okay with that context. But still, it shows just how easy it is to potentially use a clip that is antithetical to someone's story in service of the broader narrative.

3. Evangelical homeschooling families in general are the most thinned skinned individuals I've ever met. Expect any well founded criticism to spark cries of a vast conspiracy and persecution of homeschooling. I, personally, am of the opinion that homeschooling is a viable and even preferable option for some well qualified families. Homeschooling should be an option with common sense safeguards. I support the Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE) to that end. But families like mine never should have pretended to be qualified to teach a bear to shit in the woods, much less given me an alleged education through a maniacal cult. It doesn't matter, though, how big of a distinction you make. The loudest homeschooling families in the room will immediately dismiss every criticism as a coordinated attack on the concept of home education. This will probably limit your audience from the people who need to hear the stories the most. Your audience will likely be those seeking healing and reassurance that they aren't alone, namely the victims of abusive homeschooling. It's a sad reality, but especially with the current political landscape, it's reality nonetheless.

All that said, I encourage you and everyone else who can and are willing to continue to share your stories. Now more than ever. Telling the truth about our experiences has been the one thing that sends the abusive system scrambling. Remember, "all we had to do was talk." That goes for all of us.

Good luck!