Introduction
After Michelle Wong’s brother, Philip, died by suicide at the age of 36, she felt compelled to understand the reasons behind his death. Her documentary, Pieces of a Dream, is both a personal search for answers and a way of coping with her loss. The film captures the deep and lasting impact Philip’s death has had on everyone close to him.
While death ended Philip’s suffering, it left profound grief for those left behind. Family members struggle with acceptance—Michelle’s sister admits she cannot face his death, and their father’s heartbreak is visible and overwhelming. Philip’s best friend breaks down in tears recalling their final meeting.
Through intimate conversations with those who knew Phillip best and her own honest reflections, Michelle Wong embarks on a deeply personal journey. As she gently unravels layers of silence, she uncovers Phillip’s hidden struggle with gambling disorder and his descent into isolation, desperation, and depression.
Set against the contrasting backdrops of Las Vegas’s bustling casinos and the quiet streets of St. Paul, Alberta, Pieces of a Dream lays bare the raw grief of those left behind. As feelings of guilt, sorrow, and shame surface, a once-fragmented family slowly begins to rebuild a sense of closeness. This powerful and heart-wrenching film captures one sister’s relentless search for truth and healing—for herself, her family, and others impacted by addiction.
Pieces of a Dream is a raw and emotionally charged film. Its unpolished style adds to its authenticity, making it a powerful tool for raising awareness about both gambling addiction and the far-reaching impact of suicide.
Quotes
“He felt like if he stayed at home he would be sort of tied down, that eventually his dad would want him to run the restaurant … him running to Las Vegas, he felt a little bitmore free to do what it is that he wanted.”
“Las Vegas has become that kind of city where weird things happen, wonderful things happen out of the ordinary. Almost the mystique of Vegas is larger than the city itself … I think the things that my brother learned in Vegas were ‘street smart’ things.”
“He would go out at midnight and would come back the next morning. He went everyday for a whole week. And every night, he’d come home and give me $100 and say, ‘Honey, I made $100.’ So he tried brainwashing my mind that he doesn’t need a job. If he can make $100 a day – 30 days, that’s $3000. So he tried brainwashing my mind. But I really don’t know whether he made money or not. But every day he’d come home and give me $100.”
“Gambling was always a part of our life growing up, it was a form of entertainment, a fun distraction. But I was becoming aware that this was more than just a pastime for Phillip. When did gambling become something that Phillip couldn’t control? How did it go from entertainment to something so serious? I didn’t realize until I started asking questions that there was a darker side to Phillip that hadn’t been shared with me before.”
“Every time I told him I want a divorce, he said if I divorce him, he’s going to shoot me, shoot my mom, shoot all the kids … So I’m so scared and when he’s angry it’s bad. Sometimes he beats me. My whole body is bruised.”
MINH – PHILLIP’S EX-WIFE
“My brother was covering his gambling losses by telling each person a different story. He had created a huge web of deceit. It was only later when I was putting together the pieces that I realized how tangled in this web he had become.”
“I read in a book that over 50% of people who struggle with a serious gambling addiction contemplate suicide as a way out. When I read that I began to understand the choice my brother made. Maybe he didn’t tell me about his gambling problem because he was my big brother, a person I’d looked up to all my life, and part of him didn’t want me to see that he wasn’t perfect.”
“My brother’s death in many ways has actually brought this fragmented family close together in a way that I’m not sure the family would have been able to do on its own. But since his death there’s been a lot more immediacy around my relationships … I value that connection so much more than I used to. We’ve begun the long process of healing.”
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