Diksha Sundriyal
‘Only the Brave’ presents the true account of the firefighters of the Granite Mountain Hotshots in Prescott, Arizona. Starring Josh Brolin and Miles Teller as Eric Marsh and Brendan McDonough, the 2017 film charts the team’s journey to receiving a Hotshot certification and stopping raging wildfires in their tracks to save many lives. At the same time, the movie also shifts the focus to the families and the risks they face when the firefighters enter the danger zone. Jennifer Connelly brings this struggle to life as Amanda Marsh, whose real-life journey is an inspiration to all.
Amanda Marsh Found Her Soulmate in Eric Marsh
Amanda Marsh met her future husband, Eric, in a 12-step program. She had started drinking when she was eight, after a nearby home was attacked by intruders who murdered four people. Amanda’s brother was supposed to go to that house for a friend gathering, but did not receive permission from their mother. The murders had an adverse impact on Amanda’s psyche, and slowly, it put her on the path of becoming an alcoholic. Even as she moved away from her house in Chino Hills, California, to study creative writing at Prescott College, she found herself being drawn to bars at nightfall. It was in her 30s that she decided to take action.
She joined a 12-step meeting, and, at seven months sober, she met Eric, who had been seven years sober at that point. The duo connected over their shared love for classic rock and blues, rock climbing, and horses. Their relationship quickly moved forward. He proposed to her in 2010, and they were married soon after. On June 30, 2013, she received a phone call, asking her if she had talked to Eric, and soon after, she discovered that he, along with eighteen other members of his team, had perished in the Yarnell Hill Fire. She tried to process the grief in her own way, receiving support from fellow firefighter widows, her family, and friends. At one point, she decided to leave town for a while and went to Europe, taking the trip that she was supposed to with her husband.
Some time after her return, Amanda sold the place with the five-horse stable that she owned with Eric and bought a different place for herself. She also tried psychotherapy treatment, but found that spending time with her horses helped her more than anything else. She also received financial assistance from the 100 Club of Arizona, which led her to establish her own nonprofit organization aimed at supporting families of fallen firefighters. While there are many questions about what happened on the day of the fire, Amanda believes that “Eric was doing his best” under the circumstances. “There are still some things that I still have to learn to wrap my heart around, and wrap my brain around, but I don’t hold animosity towards anyone, because nobody did anything on purpose. Everybody did the best they could,” she said.
Amanda Marsh is Dedicated to Preserving Her Late Husband’s Legacy
Amanda Marsh lives in Prescott, Arizona, where she runs the Eric Marsh Foundation. She is the founder and Board President and is key to the day-to-day operations of the organisation. She established it in 2014 to ensure that firefighter families had all the necessary support in a crisis, covering the aftermath of an injury or death. The foundation provides everything, from financial assistance and a community to emotional support and other resources to help the families in times of grief. It also has a shop in Prescott, where T-shirts, jewellery, coffee, and other goodies are sold to raise money.
The foundation also collaborates with other local businesses to keep a spotlight on its work. For Christmas, they decorate and donate a Christmas Wreath for the Festival of Trees, raising money for other local non-profit organizations, such as the Center for Compassion and Justice. They have collaborated with restaurants like Red, White, and Blue and Bill’s Grill, receiving a portion of the proceeds from the sale of special burgers, including a Hot Shot Burger, a Valor Burger, and a 5-Alarm Chili Size Burger. In 2025, they also partnered with Ironman-AZ and set up shop in Tempe to sell their merch while supporting the athletes.
While its work has spread across the country, the foundation remains rooted in Prescott because “this is where the boys are.” Amanda stated that the foundation was created in remembrance of her husband and his team, and is an effort to “honor them and to do good in their name.” It is also an effort to give the fallen firefighters a voice and keep the story of their sacrifice alive. The foundation has donated thousands of dollars over the past decade, helping several families through difficult times. By the end of 2025, they aimed to donate more than $100,000 and intend to continue the good work in the future.
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Amanda Marsh Leads an Artistic and Fulfilled Life
Amanda Marsh is vocal about her support for the families of firefighters and her work with the Eric Marsh Foundation, but she prefers to keep things private when it comes to her personal life. A few years after Eric’s passing, she met a man who was also a first responder and connected with him over a shared sense of grief. However, she preferred to keep it from the public spotlight, and even now, the details of her relationship remain unknown. Still, she shares some parts of her life through the social media account of the foundation. She is a retired professional horsewoman, although she still works with horses, and holds a master’s degree in Wildlife and Range Resource Management. She has often talked about how working with horses and other animals helped her through her grief, along with the support she received from her friends and family.
Amanda was also contacted by the makers of ‘Only the Brave,’ and following a conversation with her, they decided to expand her role in the film. She provided valuable insights into her and Eric’s life, helping Jennifer Connelly understand her role and giving Josh Brolin the details that helped him transform into Eric on the screen. While she rarely appears in the media, she has spoken about her experience and her work with the foundation on podcasts and news channels over the years. She has also spoken at events hosted in places like Colorado Mountain College in Breckenridge. When the families of the Granite Mountain Hotshots demanded full death benefits, she stood beside them and wholeheartedly supported their fight.
These days, Amanda is focused on her health, especially after her “pretty intense, very necessary, and totally successful surgery” a few months back. She has shared updates of her journey over social media, talking about how she got into working out at the gym two years ago and became more interested in the idea of staying fit. She also nurtures her talent in photography. In 2025, she was a part of the photography show called ‘Click: Light Up the West’ at the Phippen Western Art Museum, which has her photographs on display and for sale from October 11, 2025, to January 11, 2026. Amanda’s devotion to her work has earned her love and respect in the community, and her story serves as an inspiration to people to turn their grief into a purpose that saves lives.
