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the LITERARY HILL A Compendium of Readers, Writers, Books, & Events by Karen Lyon
Marriage, Interrupted
In “Love You Hard,” Abby Maslin tells how she and her husband found new depths to their marriage following a brutal attack. Photo: Laura Elizabeth
Abby and TC Maslin seemed to have it all: youth, vitality, engaging careers, a new child and a strong and loving marriage. Then, in August 2012, TC was mugged and hit in the head with a baseball bat, irrevocably altering everything forever. In “Love You Hard: A Memoir of Marriage, Brain Injury, and Reinventing Love,” Abby Maslin tells the intimately painful story of how TC survived his life-threatening injury and how the two of them dealt with the changes in their lives – and their marriage – that came about as a result. Their journey is a moving tribute to the courage and resiliency of the human spirit. “In life we make plans, big and small,” she reminds us. “We do so all the time, rarely questioning if those plans will come to fruition. But when we are visited by life’s curveballs – a moment no longer than the flick of a light switch – we are changed.” Above all, though, “Love You Hard” is a heart-wrenching acknowledgment of the power of love. “Marriage is the act of choosing love again and again and again,” she writes. While she acknowledges that “the road ahead may be harder than the one we’ve already traveled,” it’s clear that together, Abby and TC will be up to the challenge. Abby Maslin is a writer and DC public school teacher who is working to bring awareness to the challenges of traumatic brain injury and caregiving. www.LoveYouHard.com
Different Flavors In “Saffron Ice Cream,” artist and writer Rashin Kheiriyeh takes a bittersweet look at the challenges of immigration through the eyes of a child. A little girl named Rashin reminisces about family outings in Iran, where the beach on the Caspian Sea had a curtain separating men and women – which little boys sometimes peeked through, creating chaos. “But it was fun,” she says. “Will it
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be fun in Brooklyn too?” Fast forward to Coney Island, where having fun is the only rule, but the ice cream isn’t “just like back home.” She misses her saffron ice cream. She misses her best friend. “I miss everything,” she cries. Ultimately, however, she discovers that new flavors – and new friends – can be pretty amazing, too. Kheiriyeh’s lesson in acceptance and adaptability is told both through her story and through her bright, Writer and illustrator quirky illustrations, Rashin Kheiriyeh conveys where the characters a colorful lesson through the story of an Iranian girl gaze smilingly at readin “Saffron Ice Cream.” ers, inviting us to share in a celebration of differences – and similarities. Award-winning illustrator Rashin Kheiriyeh has published more than 60 books in countries around the world and teaches in the art department at the University of Maryland. www.rashinart.com
Up in Smoke “If I can’t have it, you can’t either!” Such was the chilling rationale of a serial arsonist who confessed to setting more than 340 fires in and around DC, killing four people. Thomas Sweatt was finally caught and sent to prison in 2005. But who was this monster who “turned Washington, DC, upside down into a living hell?” That question intrigued Jonathan Riffe, a local firefighter who wanted to know more about the arsonist’s “deadly and destructive life.” So, in 2011, Riffe wrote to Sweatt in prison and convinced him to tell his story. The result is “Thomas Sweatt: Inside the Mind of DC’s Most Bill Gourgey’s Notorious Arsonist.” latest “Cap City Kids” novel, “Castle While Riffe steps in at points to proKeep,” finds a young vide clarification and context – and dejazz lover/computer scribes how a team of investigators fiwhiz embroiled in White House nally tracked down and arrested Sweatt intrigue. – he mostly steps back and lets the arsonist have his say. Inside Sweatt’s mind is not always a comfortable place to be, but thanks to Riffe, the book provides a rare and creepy glimpse into the obsessions