In GOODNESS FALLS, quarterback T.J. Farrell suffers a blow to the head on the final play of the regular season, but with a history of concussions and fearful of a medical benching for the playoffs, T.J. tries desperately to manage the physical, psychological, and emotional symptoms of severe head trauma and to avoid its detection.
Set in and around the rural village of Goodness Falls, Ohio, the story is further complicated when T.J.'s best friend and teammate is killed in a freak accident to which T.J. is an inadvertent contributor. To ease the excruciating headaches and to cope with his grief and guilt, T.J. begins stealing and abusing prescription painkillers from his parents' medicine cabinet. Hallucinations begin to haunt him. Violent outbursts of temper and uncharacteristically erratic behavior follow. Both of which endanger his starting position, his hope for a scholarship, his grip on reality, his relationship with his longtime girlfriend, and his life. Goodness Falls confronts the universal themes of love and death as well as a wide range of contemporary issues faced by T.J. and teenagers everywhere, including: the bonds of friendship; sex and dating; undue pressure from adults; and, most significantly, the timely issues of the dangers of sport-induced head injuries and prescription drug abuse.
Author Bio: TY ROTH teaches literature and composition at both the high school and university level. He holds a Sociology degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati, a Masters of Education from Ashland University, and a Masters of English Literature from the University of Toledo. Ty is also the author of SO SHELLY (Random House/Delacorte) for which he was named to the extended list of the "Top YA Novelists of 2011" by the American Booksellers Association.
Keywords: Football, Tragedy, Loss, Vicodin, Death, Black, Pain, Goodness, Falls, Headache
