I’m sure you’re familiar with the 1992 movie A League of Their Own, and the 2022 Prime Video series of the same title. Just in case you aren’t, it follows the (mostly fictional/speculated) lives of the players of the All-American Girls’ Baseball League, which was the first women’s league in the US & Canada.
Well, A Secret Love is a 2020 documentary chronicling the 70-year love story of Terry Donahue, one of the All-American League catchers, and her partner, Pat Henschel.
Terry and Pat kept their relationship a secret for over 60 years, and this documentary is a very blunt, touching look at their life together.
Together, Pat and Terry relive memories and speak about baseball, family, feminism, and the secret queer community in the 40s, 50s and 60s.
As Pat and Terry grow older, they are both faced with health challenges and pursue moving to a retirement community, but it’s a tough sell because they’ve built an entire life in their home of 20 years and fear rejection by other residents. They do finally choose one and the documentary shows them sorting through old mementos, furniture, and arguing about which lamps to keep 😂
What makes Pat & Terry’s love story unique is the extent they had to go to to hide who they were, even from family. They do come out to family after 65 years, amid mixed reactions, and debate a legal marriage.
I won’t spoil more details, but this Netflix documentary did make me get up and give my husband a huge hug. Terry and Pat’s love for each other is the kind that everyone hopes to find one day, even as they get older and have to make tough decisions about their future.
I’d give this documentary an 8/10, mostly because I think it would have been educational and fun for them to go even more in depth… but I also have to understand that these women still deserve some privacy from people like me.
Pat Henschel and Terry Donahue are queer icons, quietly paving the way for others like them to get the rights they didn’t have until they’d been together for more than 6 decades.
I definitely recommend this documentary! Have you seen it? What were your thoughts?
The Midnight Review 