Her Marriage Struggled Off-Screen, Too: Sarah Drew, Star of ‘Indivisible’ & Grey’s Anatomy

By: Laura Bennett

One of the best things about movies is when they hit close to home, and you feel like they’re written just for you. For Grey’s Anatomy star Sarah Drew, it was her own marriage struggle that made her sign on to her new movie, Indivisible.

Based on the true story of Army chaplain Darren Turner and his wife Heather, the film follows Darren as he returns from a 15 month tour in Afghanistan changed by the war. He’s carrying the aftereffects of grief, anger, and depression – all of which he’d been helping soldiers work through too. Struggling to find how his faith fits in the battlefield, it’s a ‘coming of age’ season for Darren, as he comes to terms with the reality of what he feels God’s called him to do.

Above: Justin Bruening plays Army Chaplain Darren Turner.

Signing on as Executive Producer and starring as Heather Turner, Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy, Mum’s Night Out) said, “The thing that attracted me [to Indivisible] was that I could see my own marriage playing out on the pages of the script”.

“My husband and I went through a really dark patch in our marriage,” said Sarah, “and went through counselling and had to wrestle through some really, really dark things. [We] came out the other side in this much more brilliant light [and] I’ve always wanted to tell a story about the hope and redemption of what I experienced,” Sarah said.

Above: Sarah Drew stars as Heather Turner.

Central to Indivisible, is that message of restoration; it’s a movie about rebuilding your marriage when it seems to be falling apart, which for Heather is because of the wedge the war drives between her and Darren.

“I think it’s a universal truth about relationships,” said Sarah, “whenever you’re trying to love life with someone other than you, there’s always some kind of breakdown in communication. You don’t know how to communicate how you need to be loved, [and] your best efforts can fail. The war scenario is ‘communication breakdown’ on steroids.”

Asked what she learned about how to repair a marriage, Sarah said, “the biggest thing is I was ashamed of it not being perfect, and so I allowed things to build up for a really long time. Until they all came to a head, and I felt totally hopeless.”

“I was ashamed of it not being perfect, and so I allowed things to build up for a really long time.”

Sarah continued, “One of the greatest lessons I had during this very dark moment was [when] I call[ed] my Dad, telling him how hopeless I felt, and he said, “You know just because you feel hopeless now, doesn’t mean it is hopeless”.”

It’s that perspective Sarah wants Indivisible to offer audiences.

“Everybody has been through moments in their life where they feel the darkness creep in,” Sarah said. “[They] feel disconnected from who they want to be [and] I hope people walk out of this film thinking, ‘[If] this couple went through this and could find that glimmer of hope when hope felt lost, then maybe I can too.”

Indivisible is in cinemas now.

Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.

About the Author: Laura is a media professional, broadcaster and writer from Sydney, Australia.