Description:
Talia Ngata takes a collision to the head fielding in a club final. She plays on - her team is three wickets down and she is the steadiest batter left. Her team wins. Two days later she cannot read without her vision doubling. Light is painful. She is tired in a way that sleep does not fix.
She has post-concussion syndrome. Her GP confirms it. Her club coach does not believe it is serious. Her school is slow to make accommodations. Her rep coach quietly drops her from the squad, citing 'unavailability.' The word concussion does not appear in any official communication about her case.
Talia is seventeen, Māori, and accustomed to being heard. The experience of being systematically dismissed is a specific kind of harm. It compounds the injury. This book is about fighting to be believed - and about the very different shape a win can take.
