Sweet Relief: The Marla Ruzicka Story [Hardcover]

Jennifer Abrahamson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2006

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 U.S. 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.

Editorial Reviews

From 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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From The Washington Post

An American aid worker named Marla Ruzicka and her Iraqi colleague, Faiz Ali Salim, were killed by a suicide bomber on April 16, 2005, as they drove along the road connecting Baghdad and its airport. It says much about the U.S. occupation of Iraq that this road is probably the most dangerous one in the world, but it says far more about Ruzicka and Salim that, despite the risks, they were driving along it to visit an injured Iraqi girl.

Like many others around the world, I was lucky to be Ruzicka's friend. I was touched by her extraordinary generosity of spirit, which extended to everyone she met and even to those she had yet to meet -- like the thousands of Afghan and Iraqi noncombatants injured in some way by U.S. military action, for whom she lobbied incessantly. Those efforts have resulted in Congress's appropriating nearly $40 million for Afghan and Iraqi civilians who have suffered losses at the hands of the U.S. military.

In Sweet Relief: The Marla Ruzicka Story (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, $24.95), Jennifer Abrahamson has written a balanced, well-reported account of Ruzicka's extraordinary life, which took her from a comfortable childhood in northern California to the frontlines of Afghanistan and Iraq. Ruzicka initially came off like a blond surfer girl (she was much given to exclaiming "Dude!" and "You rock!"), but underneath the effervescent exterior was a tough-minded humanitarian advocate who had little tolerance for leftist anti-war demonstrators. Ruzicka understood that wars happen despite the demonstrations, and she wanted to do something concrete to alleviate the subsequent damage to human life. The organization Ruzicka founded -- CIVIC, the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict -- continues to work to ease the suffering of innocents in wartime, but the world is a smaller place without her. She was 28 when she was killed.

The Life and Death of an Idealist in Iraq
Copyright 2006, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Gallery Books (September 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416917780
• ISBN-13: 978-1416917786
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,226,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Marla Inspires Us All, October 7, 2006

By 

David C. Frankel "Namaste" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sweet Relief: The Marla Ruzicka Story (Hardcover)

This book is a great read of a great story. Marla's story is about courage, Gandhian strength, cocktail party dresses, Kabul's first bar, and helping innocent victims of war at a time when people were just rubbing their hands together and feeling bad. Marla gave us all a chance to feel good ~ finally, an American doing the right thing - helping innocent people - relieving their suffering and hardship by getting the American Government to rebuild the lives, houses and livelihoods of innocent victims. Before Marla, these victims of war were known simply as "Collateral Damage." Now, these people have faces and are getting new homes and access to medical care. In the terrible times of war we now live in, we must take care of those caught up in the middle of armed conflict ~ 95% of those hurt in war are innocent women and children. Marla could not stand to see them suffer without telling their stories to policymakers in Washington, DC and getting them to provide real help through government channels like US AID and the Iraqi War Victims Fund that was re-named after Marla posthumously. God bless you Marla and thank you for living such an inspiring life. Thank you to the author Jen Abrahamson for bringing Marla's story to the written page and telling it in an exciting way.

I highly recommend this book for everyone who has a heart that aches for innocents who suffer due to war.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars biting off more than it can chew?, November 30, 2006

By 

M. Ferrante (Scorchy Southland, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sweet Relief: The Marla Ruzicka Story (Hardcover)

After finishing the book, I just spent an hour online researching Marla. At first I believed it was because I found her so interesting. But I'm realizing it is because this book left me so wanting... I applaud Jennifer Abrahamson's indepth work in tying together SO many loose ends, and she certainly portrayed the manic whirlwind that Marla whipped up wherever she went. But in many ways, this feels like one of those rushed, hyped, name-droppy, quick-tell-the-story-before-it-grows-cold kind of a manuscript. Her editors would have been wise to go lighter on the overly-explained timeline details and heavier on the specifics of the more moving events and characters along her adventurous road. All the same, I'm glad I read about Marla's life and was pleased to hear that CIVIC, the relief organization she founded, is still alive and working to carry out her legacy. I also watched her CNN interview. What other under-30-year-old has such confidence, poise, conviction? She was a powerhouse and died doing what she put her entire heart and soul into. Bravo!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our hometown girl!, October 16, 2006

By 

prophotog - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweet Relief: The Marla Ruzicka Story (Hardcover)

Just an amazing story for anyone who thinks that someone from a small town can't make an enormous change for the better in the world.

The world misses you Marla!