Was not able to download before title was archived. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

This book was sad, it was so sad that I almost regretted requesting for this book. It is a slow paced book, that need patience but it slowly divulge our attention to itself. I could totally feel the author pouring his heart out in this book.

I received a copy of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest - unbiased review.

I had read the description of what the book was about, but it was much more emotionally difficult to get through than I had expected. The book starts with the tragedy but then it goes into an excruciatingly long drawn out background. I had a difficult time following along in many parts.

Heartbreaking. The human toll of football is tragic enough when it's professionals have early cognitive decline, but when it's a bright, personable kid whose thinks his "brain is turning to mush" and takes his life? Heart. Breaking.

This was a wonderful portrait of Zac's life, his family's life, his community, and how football has touched and affected all of it. The book strays when it moves away from this personal story (the chapters on CTE, the NFL, and the history of brain injuries have been done better elsewhere) but when it focuses on Zac and his slow, terrifying decline it is riveting.

The other really interesting thing about this book is that that is touches on individual and community and it asks a question that is larger than football. How does a community react (and can it change) when something that is so central to a community's identity turns out to have negative effects on that very community. As I get a notification on my phone of the arrival of another two-day shipped package and type this to be stored on a server in a carbon-spewing data center, it's a question that haunts me. What am I willing to do to change my life when my lifestyle and the things I hold dear turn out to be worse for all of us?