Truth Doesn't Have a Side: My Alarming Discovery about the Danger of Contact Sports
Written by Dr. Bennet Omalu, Will Smith and Mark Tabb
Narrated by Ron Butler
4/5
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About this audiobook
One day in 2002 the fifty-year old body of former Pittsburgh Steeler and hall of famer Mike Webster was laid on a cold table in front of pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu. Webster’s body looked to Omalu like the body of a much older man, and the circumstances of his behavior prior to his death were clouded in mystery. But when Omalu cut into Webster’s brain, it appeared to be normal. Something didn’t add up.
It was at this moment, Omalu studying slides of Webster’s brain tissue under a microscope, that the world of contact sports would never be the same: the discovery of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. CTE can result in an array of devastating consequences including deterioration in attention, memory loss, social instability, depression, and even suicide. And Omalu’s discovery of CTE in the brain of an American football player has become the catalyst of a blazing controversy across all contact sports.
At the center of that controversy stands the unlikely Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian-born American citizen, a mild-mannered, gentle man of faith. It is fascinating that it would take someone on the outside of American culture to make this amazing discovery, and refuse to let it be kept hidden. Dr. Omalu began his life in strife, growing up in war-torn Nigeria. But his medical studies in forensic pathology proved to be a lifeline. It fed his natural curiosity and awakened within a deeper desire to always search for the truth. Who would have thought that such an unexpected character would play such a role in bringing to life this world-changing data?
In Truth Doesn’t Have a Side, discover the truth about CTE: Its causes and symptoms, how we might keep our children safe and guide professional athletes when CTE sets in. The problem of CTE is coming to light with each new story about an athlete’s concussion problem, and we are likely facing dramatic changes to professional sports. You’ll be inspired by Dr. Bennet Omalu a man driven by his love and concern for the welfare of all people, and his professional vow to speak the truth.
Dr. Bennet Omalu
Dr. Bennet Omalu is a Nigerian American physician, forensic pathologist, and neuropathologist who was the first to publish findings of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in American football players. He is the chief medical examiner of San Joaquin County, California, and a professor at the University of California, Davis. Will Smith plays him in the major motion picture release Concussion.
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Reviews for Truth Doesn't Have a Side
13 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book will impact you. Whether or not you believe the author's truth, there is great value in the words contained herein. This title is one great big testimony for faith and love.
The book chronicles the author's origins and early life in Nigeria. Humble beginnings provide a wonderful foundation on which to weave a fantastic tale of growth, perseverance and the proverbial American Dream. Had he never met former NFL hero Mike Webster, this man's tale would have been a worthy read.
The story takes a very sobering turn when the good doctor discovers some chilling effects of contact sport on the human brain. Sprinkle in a hint of corporate conspiracy. Add a dose of racist propaganda. Cover in a blanket of faith, prayer, and angels. You have a solid recipe for a very interesting story.
The story made me feel good, bad, embarrassed, inadequate and, most of all, naked. I do not like much of what is revealed and implied in this book. But I find myself unable to ignore it. Is that not what I want in a book? Powerful. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What an incredible human being! I’m so saddened to hear of all the racial challenges he endured in the USA, however, he endured it all with grace and dignity!!! I could listen to him all day!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Omalu is the forensic scientist who was first to find out and name what happens in the brains of football players—but he extended his warnings to suggest that NO child under the age of 18 play any kind of sport where their head might get “hit.” Yup, much beyond just a big OUCH. Although there is a huge religious aspect to Omalu's beliefs in his life happenings, it in no way detracts or alters what he is trying to write about. It is an enormously convincing book and really should be read by anyone with children who is looking at sports as any way to improve their lives---it's a frightening picture out there of the dangerous potential.