Goodness Falls

Ohio quarterback T.J. Farrell takes a hard hit to the head on the last play of the regular season. He has already suffered concussions before, and he is terrified that doctors will bench him before the playoffs, so he hides what he is feeling: the pain, the confusion, and the mental fog that follow head trauma.

The story unfolds in and around Goodness Falls, a small rural village. Soon T.J. faces a second crisis. His closest friend, who is also his teammate, dies in an accident that T.J. unknowingly helped cause, and the guilt and grief pile onto his injuries.

Desperate for relief, T.J. starts taking prescription painkillers from his parents' medicine cabinet, and his use spirals into abuse. Hallucinations begin, and his temper flares into violence while his behavior grows increasingly unpredictable. Each change threatens what he cares about most: his place on the team, a hoped-for scholarship, his connection to his longtime girlfriend, his sense of what is real, and his own safety.