today, tracy ross is a journalist, a wife a mother contributing editor at "backpacker" magazine. writing about the outdoors that she learned from her step-father. here's juju chang. >> i just have to gain that trust back. >> reporter: this family is doing something extraordinary. fully airing a hideous family secret. >> i don't want to be angry. >> might not be able to be around her because of you. >> reporter: a mother a daughter and the step-father who molested her, struggling to pick up the pieces. they've agreed to sit down all together, for the first time to grapple with the betrayal that nearly destroyed their family. >> i just was oblivious. i had no clue that it was going on. >> i asked myself, you know how could i do this and cause all this pain? and it's terrible. it's a terrible thing to have to own up to. >> reporter: tracy was just 7 months old when her real father died suddenly leaving her and her brother in the care of a devastated mother. so, when her step-dad donnie showed up, he was like a knight in shining armor. >> he swept me up immediately into fun and adven