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Before the Ever After explores the life of a family after the star football player father begins to suffer from CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the neurogenerative disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy. It takes us to the place where a family that has known the glow of a father who has been a hero to many, the joy of family traditions and now finds itself searching for its new identity and its new realization of where their love and excellence truly reside.
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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To read more about Before The Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/83328-cover-reveal-before-the-ever-after-by-jacqueline-woodson.html
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How cool would it be to have a father who was a famous football player? How cool would it be to ride around on his shoulders while the excited fans pushed in toward him for autographs and photos?
That’s the life ZJ - little man- Zachariah Johnson Junior - has lived with his dad, a pro tight end player who has won a Super Bowl ring and who knows what it’s like to get his 223 pounds of painful body out of bed the morning after the big game.
When the reporters stick their cameras and microphones into ZJ Jr.s face, they ask him, “Is your father your hero?” ZJs answer is he’s my dad…He’s my Everything.
ZJ loves to create songs with his father. The look on his father’s face when he hears what ZJ can do with words is a look any son would cherish forever. It feels good when your own dad thinks you’re really special.
ZJ’s friends are pretty special too. Ollie practically lives at ZJs house. He brings his amazing ability with math - he can divide fractions in his head before the other kids have jotted down the math problem. Darry has dance moves and Daniel can work magic on any kind of bicycle.
These four guys have each other’s backs no matter what.
But one day things in ZJs life start to change. His Dad looks at the four boys and doesn’t know who they are. He loses his temper and his hands start to shake. He can’t play football and the doctors are trying to figure out what is wrong.
How cool is it to have a father who was a famous football player who might not know your name? How cool is it when the people who used to fill your house and eat your food and be your friend stop coming around? How cool is it when the doctors don’t have the answer to the most important question in your life? When will my dad be my dad again?
Of course, Jacqueline Woodson brings her big heart, her deep soul and her keen intellect to the world of a young man who is facing some hard times. When she does that, you walk in his shoes and you start feeling like the story might have something to do with your own life even if your dad isn’t a football player.
So, ZJ Jr. said his father was everything. Maybe that’s not quite right. ZJ Jr. has some “everything” in his own right. ZJ Jr. can create songs; he can make music. He has an entire self all his own. He has friends. He has real friends.
This story asks some important questions. What defines us? What really matters in our lives? It’s easy to get caught up in celebrity and a big house and having a father who is a hero to thousands of strangers. But when the chips are down, the things that give a little less meaning to your days start to fall away and that leaves the people and the things that really do matter.
Your friends who have your back and like you for who you are - those are the friends you want forever. The special gift that sets you apart and the gifts of your friends that set them apart - those are the qualities that last and mean something….more than an autographed football.
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com