Title/Author:
“Line Change: A True Story
of Resilience in the Face of Adversity” by Matt Brown with Todd Civin
Tags:
Ice Hockey, memoir,
high school, injuries, Bruins
Publish date:
March 5, 2019
Length:
193 pages
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very
good)
Review:
Anyone who has played or watched ice
hockey knows it can be a brutal game. Because of its violence and its speed,
something awful can happen in an instant. For sophomore player Matt Brown of Norwood
High School in Massachusetts, that happened during a game in 2010. As the puck came off the boards and into his
skates, he was hit from behind with a clean, legal check. Brown fell, hitting his head on the boards
and immediately could not move any of his limbs. The crowd went silent, a nurse rushed to the
ice from the stands as medical personnel later took him off the ice in a stretcher. The play turned out to be the last of his hockey
career as he became permanently paralyzed.
However, that didn’t stop Matt from
not only recovering and earning his diploma and a college degree, but he also
became an inspiration to many hockey players and teams, including the Boston
Bruins. Brown writes about all of his
experiences with his recovery and the love shown him by many in this inspiring
memoir.
Hearing that the hockey community
embraced Matt isn’t a surprise to anyone who follows the sport as hockey players
are known for their generosity and support for those less fortunate. In Matt’s
case, the Bruins not only let him drop the puck at an opening faceoff, he also
was shown the Stanley Cup after the Bruins won it in 2011 and also was given an
army ranger jacket that the 2013 used to honor players on their run to the
Stanley Cup finals that year. It is
clear from the writing that Brown was humbled and overjoyed to be a part of the
Bruins’ teams those years.
More than the hockey, however, the
reader will be inspired by Matt’s unwavering optimism in both his physical
recovery and the way he handled life situations such as adjusting to college
life and breaking up with his first girlfriend – things that many teenagers
typically face. That makes some parts of
the book special – you realize Brown is a young man just trying to live his
life like any other young man.
Also inspiring is his participation
in the Boston Marathon. He has done so
six time, the first time in 2012 with runner Lucas Carr pushing Matt in his
wheelchair to the finish line. While
Matt acknowledges that Lucas has the more physically demanding portion of their
team, it should be noted that he had to endure a lot physically himself as the
wind and bumpy ride in the wheelchair would leave him just as exhausted as Carr
when they would cross the finish line.
It should be noted that they were going to participate again in 2013,
the year of the Boston Marathon bombing, but Matt was suffering with chest
colds and his physician recommended that he not participate so Matt obeyed his
physician. I shuddered when I read that
to think what would have become of him, especially when he noted that Carr ran
himself and crossed the finish line about a minute before the first bomb exploded.
Avid hockey readers will not be able
to compare this book to another story of a hockey player suffering a similar fate,
Travis Roy’s “Eleven Seconds.” Both
stories need to be told, but just as they are two different people, these are
very different stories. Matt’s is one
that anyone will enjoy reading whether or not or one is a hockey fan.
I wish to thank Mascot Books for
providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying Links:
