'American Winter' Families Struggle To Survive Fall From Middle Class

Pam Thatcher and her family ultimately move into her mother's two-bedroom apartment because they couldn't make rent.

It's a visual no parent wants to picture: a child describing what it's like to live in a house with no power for lights, heat or cooking. For many middle-class American parents, it's hard to imagine their family ever facing situation like that. But a new HBO documentary suggests that many seemingly-prosperous parents are only a few misfortunes away from dark houses and empty refrigerators.

The film, American Winter, follows the personal stories of eight middle-class families in Portland, Ore., who were hit hard during the Great Recession. Once financially stable, they now find themselves struggling. Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Joe and Harry Gantz – known for their tell-all series Taxicab Confessions — show these families desperately trying to make ends meet during the winter of 2011, even as headlines everywhere indicate a recovery for America.