Sweet Relief
The Marla Ruzicka Story
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Sweet Relief is the remarkable story of how twenty-eight-year-old Marla Ruzicka took on the US government, changed the world, and made the ultimate sacrifice.
Marla Ruzicka was a free spirit, a savvy political operator, a wartime Erin Brockovich. Fiercely determined to improve the lives of the less fortunate, the twenty-something blonde was instrumental in convincing the U.S. government to pass historic legislation aiding civilian victims of war.
Sweet Relief recounts Marla's journey from an idyllic childhood in a small California town, through Latin America and Africa, and finally to the war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq. Whether she was Rollerblading the halls of Congress to secure funds for civilians in Iraq or throwing parties for journalists in Kabul to raise awareness of her cause, no one who came within a hundred yards of Marla missed her. Her friendly smile and indefatigable pose were ubiquitous in Afghanistan and Iraq where Marla managed a door-to-door effort to identify war victims.
While Marla worked tirelessly to care for others, in many ways she neglected herself. A diagnosed manic-depressive, Marla battled extreme emotional lows and an eating disorder. And although she brought love into the homes of the aggrieved, she often struggled to find a love of her own.
Marla gave the invisible victims of war a voice and, in the process, helped to win them millions of dollars in unprecedented aid. Tragically, Marla was killed by a suicide bomber on Airport Road in Iraq in April 2005. Weeks later, the US government named the program she fought so hard to establish The Marla Ruzicka Fund. Her life and legacy are an inspiring reminder that love and determination can conquer all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This story of late human rights activist Marla Ruzicka, just 28 years old at the time of her death, might have just as easily been called "Bitter Irony": in April 2005, Marla was killed by a misdirected suicide bomber in Iraq, the country in which she worked tirelessly to improve the lives of innocent war victims. Beginning with California native Marla's first experiences with activism as a student, journalist and collaborator Abrahamson introduces a young woman determined to "get involved and really make a change" in the world, taking her mission to Cuba, Costa Rica and Kenya before setting her sights on the victims of U.S. warfare in the Mideast. The Washington Post's Kabul bureau chief Pam Constable recognized in Marla a "determined agenda behind her carefree persona," and at times this book is an inspiring tale of that young woman's perseverance in the face of overwhelming tragedy and seemingly impenetrable red tape. But Marla is just as often portrayed as a ditzy California blonde-quoth Marla, "I'm, like, so sorry we invaded your country!"-struggling with alcohol abuse, anorexia and manic depression. Abrahamson isn't quite up to the task of reconciling the extremes of Marla's personality, and the imbalance distracts from the heart of her story-the very significant contributions she made to the cause of war victims. Still, her narrative is a compelling look at the impact one determined individual can make.
