7 minute read
The Elk's Journal
MEET RAJIA HASSIB
I was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, before moving to the US at age twenty-three. A decade later, I returned to college to study English Writing and Literature and to pursue my life-long dream of becoming a writer. I hold a BA and an MA in English, both from Marshall University. After graduation, I worked briefly as a part-time Instructor of English at Marshall University, teaching an Introduction to Creative Writing class as well as a class on Postcolonial Literature. I live in Charleston, WV with my husband and two children.
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Her book, A Pure Heart, is a powerful novel about two Egyptian sisters--their divergent fates and the secrets of one family. See Amazon and Barnes and Noble for all formats and editions, including Kindle, Audiobook, Hard and Soft Cover.
Rich in depth and feeling, A Pure Heart is a brilliant portrait of two Muslim women in the twenty-first century, and the decisions they make in work and love that determine their destinies. As Rose is struggling to reconcile her identities as an Egyptian and as a new American, she investigates Gameela's devotion to her religion and her country. The more Rose uncovers about her sister's life, the more she must reconcile their two fates, their inextricable bond as sisters, and who should and should not be held responsible for Gameela's death.
Excerpt from "A Pure Heart"
"On their last day in West Virginia, Mark takes Rose on a hike. He drives her to Bridge Road, parks in the lot serving the small, upscale strip mall, then guides her a block down a curving street, where they step off the high-traffic road and onto the hiking path and, within minutes, are so fully enclosed in the tree-studded trail that Rose cannot believe they are still in the heart of one of Charleston’s busiest residential neighborhoods.
“My aunt brought me here the first time when I was a kid. Back then, she told me a story about how this trail was built by a wealthy man for his wife, who liked to ride a horse-drawn carriage. I believed that for decades, always associating the trail with some kind of Victorian romance,” Mark laughs. “Then I looked it up and it turns out the trail was built by some governor in the early twentieth century so that workers could transport bricks to a house that he was building up the hill. He eventually used it for his carriage, and I’m sure his wife did as well, but the whole brick transport thing ruined the romantic story. I still like the trail, though.”
The path winds down, wide and well maintained, unlike the narrow trails strewn with fallen branches that Mark has taken Rose to before. Curving and turning, it alternates between spots totally enclosed in trees and others with a clear view of the river below and the city on the other bank. One such spot has been fitted with a stone bench. Mark takes Rose by the hand and guides her there. They sit down in silence, watching the city, its handful of highrises sprouting between the river on one side and the forestcovered mountains on the other.
Rajia Hassib's A Pure Heart is a stirring and deeply textured novel that asks what it means to forgive, and considers how faith, family, and love can unite and divide us. "
“I have something for you,” Mark says.
From his pocket, he takes out a red-and-white-checkered kerchief, unfolds it, and pulls something from its center, placing the object in Rose’s palm. For a moment, Rose mistakes it for a stone, but then she recognizes the rough object.
“Is this an arrowhead?”
Mark nods. “I found it on a hike when I was in high school. I tried to look it up back then and was told it may be Early Archaic—as old as the Pharaohs—but of course, this may not be true. You might be able to find out.”
The arrowhead is a reddish granite, smooth with a stillsharp point. Rose places it in one palm and runs her fingers around its ridge and down to the base where it was once attached to a wooden shaft.
“That’s a perfect gift to give an archaeologist, isn’t it?” she smiles. “I feel spoiled, like we’re courting all over again.”
“I’d like to spoil you a bit. You need it.” He pauses, extending one foot and ruffling some leaves that have fallen on the ground before them. “I need it,” he adds after a while. “I’ve been kind of afraid I was losing you.” His short, nervous laugh sounds like a hiccup.
Rose says nothing. She wraps her palm around the arrow, feels its sharp edges dig into her skin.”
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AROUN D THE ELK
What’s Cookin’ With the HHHS Class of 1971
The Herbert Hoover High School (HHHS) Class of 1971 has created a Vocational Education Scholarship Fund to give back to their high school alma mater. Kat Medley Johnson said, “We want to assist one or maybe even two graduating seniors each year with the expenses of their vocational education.” She explained they chose vocational scholarships because of the limited funding sources that are available for students pursuing careers in vocational fields. The Class of 1971 hopes to offer the scholarships to one of the first graduating classes at the new high school site. The primary fundraiser for the scholarships will be a cookbook, Feed the Pack, that was generated from an idea by Paulette Wagner Burdette and compiled by the classmates of 1971. “All 200 recipes submitted are tasty, tried and true from appetizers to desserts,” said Johnson. The cookbook also includes a category of This & That featuring dandelion jelly, magic cake pan release, and other specialty recipes. Each recipe includes the contributor’s name so it is easy to find recipes from friends and loved ones. If you would like to support the HHHS Class of 1971’s Vocational Educational Scholarship Fund, please consider purchasing one or more of their new cookbooks. Tax deductible donations are also welcome. Orders are being taken now to determine how many copies to print. The cookbooks will be available this fall. Johnson said, “Wouldn’t an HHHS cookbook make a great birthday, wedding shower, Christmas or ‘just thinking of you’ gift for someone you know? The cost of each cookbook is $19.71, just like the class!
If you want to purchase a cookbook please send your name, address, phone number, and how many cookbooks you want to Debbie Kennedy Abel, P. O. Box 431, Pursglove, WV 26546. Checks should be made payable to Debbie Kennedy Abel. Some of the 1971 HHHS alumni will be at the Clendenin Fall Festival on Saturday, September 24th with order forms also. If you have questions you can text Kat Medley Johnson at 304.552.9100 or Patti Robinson at 304.610.7501.
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