City Girl, Country Girl

About the Book

I have written this story of my life in the hope that the younger generations will realize there are struggles in all our lives. The tragic circumstances of my early life gave me a deep faith in God and complete comfort in my religion. In each loss of a loved one I found many wonderful people who were there to help.

About the Author

Marian Regina Brandes was born of German and Irish immigrants in New York City on January 30, 1934. Raised in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, she attended Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School and Catherine McAuley High School until 1949 when, after both parents and several caretakers had passed away, she moved to a farm in New Windsor, New York to live with two bachelor uncles, brothers of her mother. Marian graduated from Cornwall High School in Cornwall, New York in 1952. She married Tom Gilligan in 1958 and together they have five children and twelve grandchildren. She and her husband presently reside in Boca Grande, Florida and Seneca, South Carolina.