As ZJ contemplates his new reality, he has to figure out how to hold on tight to family traditions and recollections of the glory days, all the while wondering what their past amounts to if his father can't remember it. As a charming, talented pro football star, he's as beloved to the neighborhood kids he plays with as he is to his millions of adoring sports fans. ZJ can understand that-but it doesn't make the sting any less real when his own father forgets his name. For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has been everyone's hero. ZJ's mom explains it's because of all the head injuries his dad sustained during his career. His dad is having trouble remembering things and seems to be angry all the time. But lately life at ZJ's house is anything but charming.
National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson's stirring novel-in-verse explores how a family moves forward when their glory days have passed and the cost of professional sports on Black bodies.įor as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has been everyone's hero. Using spare and lyrical language for ZJ’s present-tense narration, which moves back and forth through time, Woodson skillfully portrays the confusion, fear, and sadness when a family member suffers from brain injury and the personality changes it brings. WINNER OF THE CORETTA SCOTT KING AUTHOR AWARD In Before the Ever After, 12-year-old ZJ struggles to understand the recent changes in his beloved father, an adored pro football star who is now angry all the time and has trouble. As his dad slips further away, ZJ’s memories of better times grow closer than ever.
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