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A review by readhikerepeat
Concussion by Jeanne Marie Laskas
5.0
Since being released late last year, Concussion by Jeanne Marie Laskas has made quite a splash. In addition to the book, it has become an award-winning movie – one that I saw not long ago. Having seen the movie, I thought I knew what I was getting into when I finally decided to pick up the book but I soon learned that the movie did not do justice to it (as is usually the case). Yes, the book is about a doctor who, toiling away in obscurity, stumbles upon a brilliant discovery about the minds of former NFL players, but it’s also about Dr. Omalu – his childhood, his fears, and how he navigated being thrust into the limelight.
It started with an accidental discovery, a blip on a slide containing a slice of Mike Webster’s brain. Curious, Bennet mulled over the potential causes and implications and settled on an answer: football. Webster’s participation in America’s (arguably) favorite game left him brain damaged. So much so that it affected him while he was alive and could only be diagnosed after he died. Shocked that this type of injury, which was common in boxers, had never been diagnosed in a football player before, he consulted his trusted mentors and went public with his findings -Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). His certainty that the NFL would embrace CTE and use it to help the players it profits from, Bennet was wholly unprepared for what was to come and his story is as heartbreaking as the NFL’s is angering.
To understand Bennet’s naivety, it’s important to understand his upbringing. By his own admission, Dr. Bennet Omalu led a sheltered life and was considered a miracle child. He was a shy child with an aversion to dirt and sweat who battled depression and anxiety. His family, who were Ibo, watched their people be slaughtered in mass genocide and lived in the turmoil that still rages on today, in various ways. But Bennet knew that if he could make it to America, all would be well. And so, he became a physician at 21 and set his sights on freedom. But America, with its corporate money and racist tendencies, turned out to be more than he bargained for and he soon realized the the corruption was as rampant as it was in his home country of Nigeria, if not quite as blatant. (If you’re interested in another great book about a Nigerian coming to America and his cultural observations, check out Every Day is For the Thief by Teju Cole).
His story is as heartbreaking as the NFL’s is angering. Since its founding, America has stood for inclusion, diversity, and freedom. It can be hard for those of us who grew up here to remember that, considering what has been going on the past several years, from legislating reproductive rights to limiting the freedoms of the LGBTQIA community to the mass incarceration and police violence against blacks. But to many in the rest of the world, America still stands for something. It broke my heart to read Bennet’s own pointed observations about how the America he sought out was not the America he found.
For the full review, visit The Book Wheel.
It started with an accidental discovery, a blip on a slide containing a slice of Mike Webster’s brain. Curious, Bennet mulled over the potential causes and implications and settled on an answer: football. Webster’s participation in America’s (arguably) favorite game left him brain damaged. So much so that it affected him while he was alive and could only be diagnosed after he died. Shocked that this type of injury, which was common in boxers, had never been diagnosed in a football player before, he consulted his trusted mentors and went public with his findings -Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). His certainty that the NFL would embrace CTE and use it to help the players it profits from, Bennet was wholly unprepared for what was to come and his story is as heartbreaking as the NFL’s is angering.
To understand Bennet’s naivety, it’s important to understand his upbringing. By his own admission, Dr. Bennet Omalu led a sheltered life and was considered a miracle child. He was a shy child with an aversion to dirt and sweat who battled depression and anxiety. His family, who were Ibo, watched their people be slaughtered in mass genocide and lived in the turmoil that still rages on today, in various ways. But Bennet knew that if he could make it to America, all would be well. And so, he became a physician at 21 and set his sights on freedom. But America, with its corporate money and racist tendencies, turned out to be more than he bargained for and he soon realized the the corruption was as rampant as it was in his home country of Nigeria, if not quite as blatant. (If you’re interested in another great book about a Nigerian coming to America and his cultural observations, check out Every Day is For the Thief by Teju Cole).
His story is as heartbreaking as the NFL’s is angering. Since its founding, America has stood for inclusion, diversity, and freedom. It can be hard for those of us who grew up here to remember that, considering what has been going on the past several years, from legislating reproductive rights to limiting the freedoms of the LGBTQIA community to the mass incarceration and police violence against blacks. But to many in the rest of the world, America still stands for something. It broke my heart to read Bennet’s own pointed observations about how the America he sought out was not the America he found.
For the full review, visit The Book Wheel.