I will admit that I have never read a Jacqueline Woodson book that I have not loved. She is a stellar poet who writes with clarity, feeling and absolute perfection. So, I was thrilled to read about this new verse novel that centers on a hidden health epidemic among many sports stars. This book concerns football, and the rising numbers of young (and older) football players dealing with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
The first part is set in 1999, when ZJ's dad, 'Zachariah 44', begins to show symptoms that something has gone definitely wrong with him. ZJ Senior is a revered football player, an attentive and loving father and husband, and a faithful and caring friend. The many concussions he has endured are ending his career and the life the family has known together. ZJ has three very special friends who are also loyal, supportive, and see him for himself, not as his famous father's son.
As the headaches, memory lapses, and angry outbursts intensify, ZJ and his mother are frightened. The many doctors they see have no answers, and offer no real treatment.
"There's not a name for the way
Daddy's brain works now.
The way it forgets little things like
what day it is and big things like
the importance of wearing a coat outside
on a cold day. There's not a name
for the way I catch him crying
looking around the living room like
it's his first time seeing it."
Written with impact through ZJ's first-person narration, this heartbreaking story includes exceptional and caring friends and family members who give support and love to a family dealing with the tragic effects of brain trauma. It has only been in the past few years that the NFL has begun to recognize the lasting effects of football injuries on many of their layers. Still, this does not read like a warning; instead, it is an introspective look at loss and the longing a family feels about that loss. It is also a testament to the hope felt by even a tiny flicker of hope.
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