Sometimes a true story is scarier than make believe. I was interested in reading this after seeing the movie and was surprised at the revelations described in this book. It boggles my mind with the amount of research and findings that the NFL doesn’t want to acknowledge the serious risks of playing a game. Great informative read!

Concussion by Jean Marie Laskas

Brief Summary: Dr. Bennet Omalu is the pathologist who first discovered CTE in the brain of a dead NFL player. This is his story of the fight for justice and his refusal to let the truth be covered up against one of the wealthiest and powerful adversaries: the National Football League.

Highlights: I loved hearing and learning about his upbringing as a doctor in Nigeria. I loved his openness about his depression. I could relate to the academic research rigors and competitiveness. As an NFL football fan and TBI/disability advocate this was hard to read and hear about the cost of CTE to players and families. As a social justice advocate, I was angry. This was also inspiring to see an underdog taking down such a wealthy and powerful adversary. I loved that the families started the conference so that they could all meet together.

Rating:5/5- this is a story that needed to be told

This is a must read for all football players and anyone with a loved one who plays the sport of football. It asks a powerful question: is the sport really worth the costs?

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Having had two sons play football for years, this title was of great interest to me. The revelations are needed. I am not sure anything will change but nothing will change if we don’t continue this conversation. The author also breaks down the medical language in a way laypeople can understand.

This was a difficult book for me to get through because it opens with the death of Mike Webster, who was an All-Pro and Hall Of Fame football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Him player center meant that on every play he would receive contact. From there you are taken to the testimony of the doctor who Bennet Omaul who new to this country would rock the world in 2009. This was the character that the movie was based on. The author first takes you back to 2002 and the day of the autopsy of Mike Webster who at 50 was gone. These discoveries not only shocked him, but would shock the world. The story then leads you back to the Doctors life and the village and civil war that he grew up in, in Nigeria, and his struggles just to make it from there to school but eventually to America. She does this while he is on the stand reflecting in his mind on how his journey had gotten to that point. To the people that helped him to also a man he looked up to that let him down immensely. The book goes into much, much more detail and facts than the movie could have every hope to have touched on, and when I was finished I actually felt worse after reading this book. Worse about myself not for playing football when I was younger, but in a way still enjoying it knowing what can happen to those who are now playing. I feel the NFL has known for decades about this issue and has used the money and influence to change doctor’s opinions, some not all. When doctor Omaul stood up against his mentor he took the courage he had from his life in Nigeria knowing he had seen the worse, and knew that this is what he needed to do. An excellent book.

When a book makes me angry, I know the author has done a great job. This is one of those books. Having seen the movie based on this book and read/watched "League of Denial" I was wondering how much more of this story I needed. This gave me some more of the personal side of the issue. Nicely done.