Before the Ever After (2020)

Before the Ever After (2020)

Juvenile based fiction
"Maybe it was after his Super Bowl win, his ring
new and shining on his finger. Me just a little kid,
so the ring was this whole glittering world,
gold and black and diamonds against
my daddy's brown hand."
ZJ, protagonist of Jacqueline Woodson's Before the After, knows
that the original Zachariah (whom he was named after), a pro football
player, is a hero to many people. But to him jersey number 44 is just
Dad: the dad who is a surogate father to one of his best friends, who
encourages his musical talent and sometimes jams with him, and who
races him every year.
But then big Zachariah starts to change. He begins losing his
temper which he never had in the past. He becomes increasingly
forgetful. He suffers from splitting headaches. Doctor after doctor
is unable to heal him.
As his father has terrible days and good days ZJ struggles to
adjust to a reality that devastates adults. Through his narrative,
which cycles between remembered past and bittersweet present, he
shares his coming of age story most eloquently. Before the Ever After
is a must read not only for its target audience but folks way beyond.
In her author's note, Woodson discusses the condition the
fictitious big Zachariah and too many real life football players
suffer from.
"...Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative
brain disease found in athletes and others who have suffered repeated
blows to the head. At first, many doctors did not want to believe
there was a connection between brain damage and America's most popular
sport, but Dr. Omalu persisted, and in 2016 the link was finally
acknowledged..."
Dr. Bennett Omalu discovered that link back in 2002. I
researched him and discovered that he's a campaigner against violent
contact sports. According to Omalu, even athletes, including kids,
who don't get full blown CTE can get significant brain damage. Blows
to the head are more serious than we'd like to believe and safety
equipment can not do enough.
So why did it take so long for the medical community to take his
discovery seriously? Could it have anything to do with:
A) Dr. Omalu being Black and born in Nigeria;
B) A lot of people making big bucks on pro football;
C) Both of the above?
Just wondering.
Serious kudos to Woodson for breaking down a complex condition
so kid readers can comprehend and empathize without sugar coating it.
Woodson never writes down to kids. I so appreciate the way she treats
younger readers with respect and dignity.
On a personal note, I am having some blissful days. Our tree is still
up and decorated. I'm spending a lot of time near it. I've been
reading awesome library books, five so powerful I had to bump them to
the front of my list, starting with this one. I'm in the zone as far
as writing with poetry and reviews flowing and the two prose books I
plan to write structured. But I'm not just living in my head. I had
a great weekend with my partner and cat. Eugene and I watched a movie
and ate home made pizza together. I had great phone conversations
with all my children. Adam has my this semester's textbook and is
going to mail it off today. Of course Tobago is being her sweet
self. I'm fully aware that even in a pandemic I have a lot to be
thankful for. (Jules)
Out tree is still up. Oh, happiness. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to our wonderful family.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway


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