BIBLIOGRAPHY
Woodson, Jacqueline. 2020. Before the Ever After. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books. ISBN: 978-0399545436
PLOT SUMMARY
Zachariah Johnson Jr., son of professional football player “Zachariah 44” Johnson, is slowly watching his father fade. Once hailed for being one of the best tight ends of his time, Z.J.’s father slowly loses traction as an athlete and the fans, friends and fame disappear as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) wreaks havoc on his mind. His symptoms begin in the middle of 1999 when he forgets he told a joke the third time he says it. He has bouts of depression until, on New Year’s Eve, he yells at Z.J. for making too much noise and does not recognize his best friends, whom “Mr. J” has treated as his own sons for years. At one point Mr. J momentarily forgets Z.J.’s nickname, which truly terrifies Z.J. There is a mix of mostly bad days with a few good ones where Z.J. recognizes his father’s old smile. The novel ends with “Zachariah 44” being hospitalized after punching his hand through his bedroom window.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Through Z.J.’s first-person point of view, readers experience, with a knot in their throat, the fear and absolute hopelessness experienced by families that see men go through CTE. Since football is a sport pursued by many young Black players coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, Woodson’s Before the Ever After serves as education and warning label to the young aspiring Everetts: The game is not all fame and glory.
As disclosed in the author’s note, it was not until 2002 that a doctor identified the brain degenerative brain disease with which Mr. Johnson and his colleagues are afflicted. Before this discovery, there was more blind reverence for football. With the NFL being more aware and upfront about CTE, players nowadays are more forewarned before embarking on football careers. Woodson’s narrative, however, touches down on a segment of the athlete population whose spotlight fades once they are off the field.
On various occasions, but particularly in her poem “Day After the Game,” Woodson drags readers from their removed bleacher view of football and places them at field level. The tackles, the concussions, the broken bones that no score board cares to tally are finally recorded, and they equal the sum of broken men. Woodson’s narrative is not 100 percent anti-football. Although Z.J. confronts Everett about tackling him on a whim, he does not judge or dissuade him from one day going pro. Knowing the harm and hurt the game can cause, Z.J cannot play the game on principle, but he still gifts Everett his father’s football, wishing him better luck than what befell Zachariah 44.
Woodson parallels the rise of a football player to a fairy tale. The opening chapters describe the joys of a good family life, sprinkled with the grandeur of celebrity life. But like in “Real Fiction,” Z.J. soon finds himself threading the deep waters of life’s uncertainties. The close-knit Johnson family, their friends and family are all realistic characters who act according to their trying times.
Z.J.’s fantastic four group is typical of boys between ages 10-12: hanging out in packs, especially when living in the same neighborhood. In the poem “Who We Are & What We Love” (14) Woodson introduces Ollie, Darry, Daniel, and Z.J. according to their aptitudes and personalities. Throughout the verse novel they hold steady to their characters and readers can keep track of who each one is.
Now living in a mansion, Mr. Johnson’s childhood was one of struggle, like many young Black football players. His mother lost a leg to diabetes and he felt guilty for not being able to afford a wheelchair. His dream of playing professional football is out of love for the sport, but also a way to provide for his family. He never once blames or suspects football for making him feel off, and rather resents not being able to keep up and play for his team and fans. Before he starts deteriorating, Zachariah 44 is a present father, and Z.J.’s “every single thing” (4). He is an energetic, funny, loving, supportive, and motivational father to Z.J., which make his withdrawal and personality changes the more heartbreaking. The other three boys, having known Mr. J since they were in second grade, all feel hurt by his erratic behavior as well. Especially for his “son from another father and mother,” Ollie feels like he is losing a father twice.
Until his hospitalization at the end of the novel, Mrs. Johnson carries the family through the “New Normal” with the grit, patience, and resolve only a woman who has known struggle before can. She soothes and reassures her husband through his pain, and tries not to alarm her son, while being realistic about their situation. Losing a life partner is difficult, however, and she humbly leans into family, friends, and faith. Suspicious of the sport, she inquires and keeps up with acquaintances going through similar situations, and presses the doctors for truth in their diagnosis.
Aside from mentioning many football teams, becasue of Z.J. and Mr. J’s love of music, Woodson pays tribute to a lot of Black musicians in her novel, dropping the names of groups like Earth, Wind & Fire, Sugarhill Gang, and soloist Whitney Houston, and Minnie Ripperton. Not to pretend like Mr. J lives in a cultural vacuum, one of his favorite singers is Rufus Wainwright.
Aside from the social commentary on a dangerous sport that continues to be idolized, Z.J.’s story is one that promotes building mental and emotional strength. Life will throw footballs that will knock the wind out of our stomachs but we must be prepared to navigate our new realities without wavering, and sometimes even help steady others while we ourselves are doubled over. Woodson says that with our own resolves and a nucleus of supportive people, life’s tragedies can be overcome.
AWARDS
2021 Coretta Scott King Book Award
2020 Cybils Awards, Nominee
2020 Goodreads Choice Award
REVIEW EXCERPTS
From Booklist, starred review: “Woodson again shows herself to be a masterful writer, and her meaningful exploration of concussions and head injuries in football, a subject rarely broached in middle-grade fiction, provides young athletes with necessary insights into sport’s less glamorous side. In addition to this, it is a novel that explores family, mental illness, and the healing that a tight-knit, loving community can provide.”
From Kirkus, starred review: “A poignant and achingly beautiful narrative shedding light on the price of a violent sport.”
From Publisher’s Weekly, starred review: “Eloquent prose poetry creates a moving narrative that reveals the grief of a child trying to understand why his father has changed and why nothing can be done… ZJ’s doleful tale unveils the intense nostalgia and hope one can feel despite realizing that sometimes what is lost can never be regained.”
CONNECTIONS
–Killough McClafferty, Carla. 2013. Fourth Down and Inches: Concussions and Football’s Make-or-Break Moment. Football almost died in 1905. The exposure of player’s concussions threatens the survival of American’s most popular sport again. ISBN: 978-1467710671.
–Baby Professor. 2017. Concussions: A Football Player’s Worst Nightmare. 6th grade level reading on the topic. ISBN: 978-1541910669
–Check out the NFL’s Player Health and Safety Website for player care, injury data, pain management and equipment innovations. Including information on Concussion Protocol & Return-to-Participation Protocol. This is an area that children may be able to go into if they love the sport, without having to play it.
Biblioterika 