{"product_id":"9781616209087","title":"Love, Zac : Small-Town Football and the Life and Death of an American Boy","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eLove, Zac\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Reid Forgrave\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eLove, Zac\u003c\/i\u003e is not just a vital contribution to the national conversation about traumatic brain injury in athletes, it’s so beautifully written it belongs on the shelf alongside classic works of literary journalism.” —Jeanne Marie Laskas, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eConcussion\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eZac Easter could be your neighbor, your classmate, your son.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In December 2015, Zac Easter, a twenty-four-year-old from small-town Iowa, decided to take his own life rather than continue his losing battle against the traumatic brain injuries he had sustained as a no-holds-barred high school football player.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e For this deeply reported and powerfully moving true story, award-winning writer Reid Forgrave was given access to Zac’s own diaries and was able to speak with Zac’s family, friends, and coaches. He explores Zac’s tight-knit, football-obsessed Midwestern community; he interviews leading brain scientists, psychologists, and sports historians; and he takes a deep dive into the triumphs and sins of the sports entertainment industry.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Forgrave shows us how football mirrors America, from the fighting spirit the game has helped inscribe in our national character to the side effects of the traditional notions of manhood that it affirms. But above all, \u003ci\u003eLove, Zac\u003c\/i\u003e is a warning to parents and those entrusted with the care of our kids not to ignore concussions and warning signs of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). For parents struggling to decide whether to allow their kids to play football, this eye-opening, heart-wrenching, and ultimately inspiring story may be one of the most important books they will read.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e“What an accomplishment. Brimming with compassion and insight, Reid Forgrave has written an artful and intimate portrait of a former high school football star that travels ambitiously into themes of masculinity, suffering, and the nature of a national obsession.\u003ci\u003e Love, Zac\u003c\/i\u003e is not just a vital contribution to the national conversation about traumatic brain injury in athletes, it’s so beautifully written it belongs on the shelf alongside classic works of literary journalism.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003eJeanne Marie Laskas, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eConcussion\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Sportswriter Forgrave stuns in this moving debut . . . This unflinching exposé is one anyone who loves the sport should pick up.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “The concussion epidemic has spread devastation to players in the less visible strata of the sport, especially to high school players like Zac Easter. \u003ci\u003eLove, Zac\u003c\/i\u003e shows the totality of that damage in full. Someone should staple this book to Roger Goodell’s forehead.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003eDrew Magary, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Hike \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Postmortal  \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “An essential work of sports reporting, \u003ci\u003eLove, Zac\u003c\/i\u003e explores the dark side of small-town football culture and the warning signs of CTE, interspersed with passages from Zac’s diary and interviews with his family and friends.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “An intelligent, provocative tale that will give pause to many parents of football players at any level.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“\u003c\/b\u003eA tragic, moving story that will linger with readers of sports and biographies in general.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “A heartbreaking biography [that] underscores the moral ambiguity of supporting life-threatening sports.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A monumental achievement of deep reporting and expert storytelling. One question echoes from every page of this book: What happened to Zac Easter? In seeking the answers, Reid Forgrave has written a detective story, a love story, and a parable about football, pain and the consequences of the bedrock version of American masculinity.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003eMichael Sokolove, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Last Temptation of Rick Pitino\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDrama High\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “An in-depth exploration not only of football and its risks, but of the empty-calorie culture into which we are driving young men. It will leave you unable to ever watch a football game—at any level—the same way again.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003eBrian Alexander, author of \u003ci\u003eGlass House\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781616209087\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Algonquin Books","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":40859967979726,"sku":"9781616209087","price":27.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/O_b197f29c-d06f-42df-8a2c-f055365d68ef.jpg?v=1643964276","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781616209087","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}