Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch was born and raised in Brantford. Her father was of Ukrainian heritage and her mother was of Irish heritage, but because of the extreme prejudice suffered by her father when he was a child growing up in an English community on the prairies, he did not share much about his Ukrainian heritage with Marsha. He wanted his children to be accepted as equals and believed that the best way to do that was by blending in with the dominant culture. As Marsha grew up, she did not learn the Ukrainian language and did not attend Ukrainian events. This cultural absence created a deep yearning in her, and she ended becoming fascinated with Ukrainian heritage and culture. 

Later, Marsha taught herself Pysanky art and took Ukrainian lessons during her undergrad at Western University. As an avid reader, she was disturbed by the fact that popular culture’s portrayal of Ukrainians did not correlate with the lived experiences of Ukrainian refugees she interviewed. She returned to Western University and obtained her Master of Library Science degree to learn the research skills necessary to write books on people escaping war and totalitarian regimes.