Truth Doesn't Have a Side

By: Dr. Bennet Omalu, Mark Tabb, Will Smith - foreword

Narrated by: Ron Butler

Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

One day in 2002 the 50-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.

©2017 Omalu, LLC (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

🏈🏆⚽️🥇🧠🥊Potentially Lifesaving, Moving and Timely🧠 ⚰️

This was a terrific read, and I’m now giving away copies and sending the audiobook to every friend who has or loves a child. This just couldn’t be any more important a topic to discuss with your family and friends right now. I would call it a must-read, not only for what it says about our culture and how we raise our kids, but also what it says about our country and how we treat those immigrants like Omalu who bring us the best their country has to offer, strive to be the best that they can be and contribute all they have to match the glorious image of America they have upheld almost as an idol, and then get spat upon in return. This book is even more relevant today than it was when Omalu first discovered CTE in the brain of Mike Webster. For many months now, I have been using Chapter 14, Nearly Over Before It Begins, about the astonishing trials and tribulations endured by those attempting to navigate the United States immigration system, as a standout, stand-alone essay with my patients working on improving their reading comprehension. Even my Republican patients love it and are amazed.

I have only a few minor quibbles.

1. Omalu is a deeply religious man who talks about his faith pretty constantly. That may charm the reader initially (as it did me), but eventually induce eye-rolling in even the most admiring readers (as it did me, toward the end, when even filmmaker Ridley Scott and his wife Giannina are described as angels brought to Omalu through divine intervention).

2. I wish Will Smith had been prevailed upon to read his own Foreword, and that Omalu had read the rest of the book himself, although this narrator is fine.

3. The book is lighter on the science of CTE than a scientifically or medically minded reader might like. Case in point: Omalu at one point calls CTE “an entirely new disease,” remarking that the pattern of brain damage is different in CTE than in punch-drunk syndrome (or dementia pugilistica). I wanted to know how it was different. Different in what way? I said aloud in my car while I was driving. But that question is not answered in this book, or if it is, I somehow missed it.

4. Listening again and again to the section in which Omalu names this “new” disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy did not help me better understand his use of the word chronic to mean “caused by repeated blows over time” versus the usual medical definition of an ongoing CONDITION that persists over time after diagnosis. And is CTE merely chronic in the customary sense? Isn’t it also PROGRESSIVE? If so, did he consider calling it PTE instead of CTE? And if it’s progressive, through what neurophysiological mechanism exactly?

I’m looking forward very much to meeting Dr. Omalu, and hope to be able to both thank him in person for his marvelous book and ask some of my questions at that time.

Grade: A

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Unfortunately Compelling

The story of CTE is well presented in this book. As a physician I appreciate the depth he took to prove the connection to repeated head trauma. As a mother of twin 12 yo boys who love football, I am sad that they won’t be able to enjoy this sport any longer. Luckily they haven’t played much. I will encourage other sports to get the benefits of playing with a team.
Thank you for a wonderful book!

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

A Reader’s Prayer

Just an amazingly informative book! I enjoyed the frankness & spirituality shared within. Dr. Omalu has a strong faith and his writing encouraged me and reminded me of the gift that relying on God brings. It was an offering, a prayer, to and for all of those who may be struggling with any sort of trial, not just CTE. It was written so that the laymen could understand can complexed ideas about the brain and how contact sports damage it. I’m grateful to Dr. Omalu for sharing his story and for standing up to the NFL in an attempt to save lives. The narrator was EXCELLENT! The story was well written. Loved this book in every possible way.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Important for Parents to Hear

While at times the narrative feels repetitive, this is a wonderful story of trial and triumph that also includes sound advice for parents regarding sports and children.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Scary

I am 14 and I play football inn a six man league. I am getting concerned for my brains safety. Dr. Bennet's story is motivational and shows the American dream. The performance has some random stops but is good otherwise.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Enlightening!

While the book was as much about Dr. Omalu as it was about thhe discovery and cause of CTE, it was very enlightening. It was a testament on his survival and immigration plight as well as his rise to success in the US.

My two sons chose not to play football but rather baseball and swimming. I'm glad they did.

I truly believe we will see the end of football as we know it today within the next 25 years, if not sooner. The damage from repeated hits to the head and subsequently diagnosed CTE cannot be ignored.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Real life

This book was hard to listen to at times, as I have a son that suffered axial shearing injury while playing football and suffers daily with its effects. But this is a great book to open your eyes to the effects of trauma on the brain. It is good to get to know Dr. Omahlu as well. Made me feel like I could call and talk to him about my son if I needed to.

0 of 2 people found this review helpful

Love God or Leave It

The essence of the story was interesting, but the delivery was cumbersome. I can sympathize with the guy and the hurdles he overcame, but my feeling was that he spent too much time thanking God for everything he accomplished in his life. I am definitely not questioning his beliefs or his right to have them, but, come on....I found this "preachering" annoying, and felt it interfered with the relating of the amazing discoveries that were his.

A Christian

0 of 2 people found this review helpful

Must Read

Some books have more to offer than is recognized by the tile. This is one of those books that offers so much more than just about the events that transpired in Bennett’s life.

0 of 2 people found this review helpful

Wonderful!!

Wonderful real life stories expressed in a manner that forces you to look deeper than medical science. I love the way that his life and God we're interwoven into the book.

0 of 2 people found this review helpful