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by Pete Dove (Author)
In fact, for all the apparent thrills of the wedding, the year 2000 was one of enormous tragedy for Marsha Brantley. The newly wed lost both of her parents during those twelve months, both succumbing to cancer within a few weeks of each other. The sense of isolation that comes from losing one parent can impact on a person for years; to lose both so close together, in such painful circumstances, is hard to imagine. Further, Marsha had neither brothers nor sisters. Donnie apart, she had no-one with whom to share her grief. A spouse or partner can be a huge strength in times of bereavement; they can offer sympathy and support, a shoulder to lean on. But they are not from the same family. They do not have the stories to share, the joint experiences which can help siblings through such a crisis. It was, Marsha told friends at the time, the hardest point of her life.
Yes, Marsha had cousins and aunts, extended family spread over the breadth and depth of the United States. But they were not close to her. Indeed, when she went missing in 2009 it was between six months and a year before most of these relations learned that she had disappeared...What happened to Marsha Brantley?
