Anne-Marie Cockburn
Single Mother Anne-Marie Cockburn lost her daughter, 15 year old Martha Fernback, in 2013 to an accidental ecstasy overdose. Within hours she began to write down her feelings as a way to channel her shock and try to make sense of the tragic loss of her only child. -Her book, 5,742 Days (the number of days Martha lived), is a real-time account of the first 102 days without her girl, poignantly finishing on what would have been Martha's 16th birthday.
After the sentencing of the 17 year old drug dealer, Anne-Marie publicly forgave him and over an 18 month period - they corresponded through letters, which Anne-Marie believes has aided her healing.
Describing herself as a peaceful protester, Anne-Marie regularly visits schools and prisons to tell her story. In her own words: “As I write this, I have been without my girl for 1,121 days - it sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? But in the aftermath, time becomes distorted - the pain of bereavement doesn't wear a watch.So to represent my beloved Martha, it is my quest to keep this conversation going in order to save other families from a similar loss to mine.”
