spoiler below plus plus rise leave her husband with no real explanation ever offer and relocate to kentucky . she meet the wonderfully sympathetic sister evangeline and the crotchety heart of gold spinster landowner along with some of the other pregnant woman . the audience be geered to feel empathy for these mother who be force to relinquish custody of their baby yet despite a few initial protest and rise do nothing to challenge the dictatorial mother superior or change any of her dictum even after she herself become a mother . oh and and for reason never explain and she isolate herself from her daughter cecilia asap as well her her bigamously wed 2nd husband son . cecilia grow into a remarkably well adjust teen without any evident boyfriend who cherish her de facto mother ( sister evangeline and the late spinster landowner who leave the house ) and her de facto father son but be understandably puzzle and bitter towards her own mother cold behaviour . beyond cook together for the unwed mother and teach her how to drive and rise see to it they have as little interaction a possible and openly resents any query into her past . rise actually berate cecilia for drive the seriously injured son to the hospital when there be no other reliable mean to safely reach the place a though cecilia have take a joyride . eventually rise first husband find the family shortly after rise have take off with only the terse explanation but he seem perfectly willing to leave thing be . at the end and after someone smash her car back window and rise have an epiphany and drive back home and while a long dry spring gush to life and rise gush about how she now cecilia real mother . while hug her daughter and bigamous husband . contrary to another reviewer and i do not think cecilia have miraculously become totally accepting of rise at that instant but just seem willing to see if this new rise be go to change . usually lifetime movie try to provide compelling motivation for the despicable behaviour of the lead character but this one do not even slightly bother . while rise wasn not overtly cruel or sadistic and it hard to remember a less sympathetic female character and she owe everyone in her life major penance . i would have prefer it if the movie have be focus on sister evangeline and the spinster or son instead of rise . sada thompson and ellen burstyn shin in their part but even the great dana delaney couldn not make rise believable or likable .