A new book details the life of Indianola native Zac Easter, who took his own life rather than continue his losing battle against the traumatic brain injuries sustained as a young man, titled Love, Zac: Small-Town Football and the Life and Death of an American Boy written by Reid Forgrave. Zac suffered from CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) due to repeated hits to the head, and wished to donate his brain to science to help find a cure for CTE. Zac’s mother Brenda Easter has founded the CTE Hope Foundation, which searches for ways to identify CTE potential in concussed and sub-concussed brains, and aims to protect and defend against the long-term, ill-effects of multiple traumatic brain injuries. Forgrave tells KNIA News what he hopes the book passes along is the message of awareness for CTE and how much Zac impacted the lives around him.

“People still speak his name, and remember the parts about Zac, the fun-loving Zac, and also for the tragedy of Zac, and the fact his story can be used in a positive way. I do hope, and maybe it sounds cheesy or too spiritual, but I do hope that Zac looks down and is thankful that people are still thinking about him, and making sure that his life mattered, his life was meaningful, his life continues to live on through the message today.”

The book will be released on September 8th, and is available locally at Pageturners.

In Depth with Dr. Bob Leonard with Brenda Easter
https://www.kniakrls.com/2020/08/13/in-depth-brenda-easter-with-cte-hope-knia-and-krls/
CTE Hope Foundation
https://ctehope.com/
Love, Zac book
https://www.workman.com/products/love-zac