“Love, Zac: Football, Concussions, & Raising Boys in 21st-Century America" at the Davenport Public Library Fairmount Street Branch -- March 28.
Monday, March 28, 6:30 p.m.
Davenport Public Library Fairmount Branch, 3000 North Fairmount Street, Davenport IA
Appearing locally to discuss his acclaimed non-fiction that the New York Post called an "essential work of sports reporting" and that the Library Journal deemed a "tragic, moving story that will linger with readers," author and sportscaster Reid Forgrave visits the Davenport Public Library's Fairmount Street Branch on March 28 to discuss matters of sports, health, and children's safety in his presentation Love, Zac: Football, Concussions, & Raising Boys in 21st-Century America.
For parents, the decision on whether to allow their son to play football is a difficult one weighing very real risks with very real rewards. There are social pressures to join in on America's favorite sport, concerns about how concussions may impact their child's future – and then there is weighing how football can help form their child's character. In telling the story of Zac Easter in his 2020 publication Love, Zac: Small-Town Football & the Life and Death of an American Boy, Davenport Public Library guest Forgrave tells the story of America's complicated love affair with football, and examines the unique challenges of raising a boy in modern-day America. A critically lauded story told from the heart, the New York Times raved of Forgrave's book, "Love, Zac is not just a vital contribution to the national conversation about traumatic brain injury in athletes; it’s so beautifully written it belongs on the shelf alongside classic works of literary journalism.”
Author Forgrave writes about sports and other topics for GQ, the New York Times Magazine, and Mother Jones, among other publications. He has covered the NFL and college football for FoxSports.com and CBS Sports, and currently writes for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. The article in which Forgrave first wrote about Zac Easter is included in "Best American Sports Writing 2018." Forgrave is also a former contributor to Iowa's Des Moines Register, for which he wrote long-form narrative journalism and covered the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. Forgrave lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two sons, Love, Zac is his first book, and those wishing to attend his Davenport Public Library presentation can experience the event either in person (in the Fairmount meeting room) or online, with virtual registrants receiving an e-mail with the Zoom-meeting link and meeting ID.
Love, Zac: Football, Concussions, & Raising Boys in 21st-Century America will be presented at the Davenport Public Library's Fairmount Street Branch on March 28, participation in the 6:30 p.m. event is free, and more information on the evening is available by calling (563)326-7832 and visiting DavenportLibrary.com.
