Victim Forgives Attacker, Writes Book

Victoria Ruvolo, a Lake Ronkonkoma woman who suffered facial fractures and brain damage after a frozen turkey was flung at her moving vehicle in 2004, has penned a new book and has forgiven the young man who did the dirty deed.

Ruvolo wasn’t far from her home when Ryan Cushing, then 18, threw a 20-pound turkey at her car on Nov. 13, 2004. Ruvolo’s tale is told in her new self-published book, “No Room for Vengeance,” which came out last week.

Cushing, who has been out of prison since 2006, was sentenced to a minimum six months.

Ruvolo has endured many surgeries, but has forgiven Cushing for his wrongdoing.

“Given the opportunity for retribution, Ms. Ruvolo gave and got something better: the dissipation of anger and the restoration of hope, in a gesture as cleansing as the tears washing down her damaged face, and the face of the foolish, miserable boy whose life she single-handedly restored,” The New York Times wrote, describing their face-to-face meeting at court and the end result of her forgiveness.

Ruvolo will be signing copies of her book at The Book Revue in Huntington on Saturday, November 12, at 7 p.m. You can also purchase the book on Amazon.