‘Concussion’ author Jeanne Marie Laskas
7 p.m. Oct. 20
South Wing, Cal U Convocation Center
How did a forensic pathologist in Pittsburgh uncover the connection between repeated head trauma and the downward spiral suffered by more than a dozen NFL football players, including “Iron Mike” Webster?
Find out when the Noss Lecture Series presents a conversation with award-winning writer Jeanne Marie Laskas, author of Concussion.
A New York Times bestseller, Concussion is the story of Nigerian immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu, whose research uncovered the traumatic effects of repeated concussions on the brains of NFL football players.
Concussion was published in December 2015 to coincide with the release of a film by the same name, starring Will Smith. The book is based on Laskas’ 2009 article for GQ, “Game Brain,” which addressed the National Football League’s response to the findings of Omalu and other researchers.
Join us
The talk by Jeanne Marie Laskas is free and open to the public. Laskas will discuss her reporting and writing, as well as the response to her work.
After her talk, the audience may participate in a question-and-answer session.
Copies of Concussion will be available for sale, and a book-signing will follow the presentation.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and parking is available on campus.
About the author
Jeanne Marie Laskas teaches at the University of Pittsburgh, where she is a professor and director of the creative writing program. She is a former syndicated columnist for The Washington Post Magazine and the originator of the “Ask Laskas” column in the Reader’s Digest.
Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, Allure, Ladies Home Journal and other publications, as well as Best American Magazine Writing 2008 and six annual editions of Best American Sportswriting.
In addition to Concussion, she is the author of five books, including Hidden America.
About the Noss Lecture Series at Cal U
Since 1983, California University of Pennsylvania’s Noss Lecture Series has brought important voices to the campus community and the residents of southwestern Pennsylvania.
Previous speakers include environmental activist Robert Kennedy Jr., Nobel Peace Prize recipient Lech Walesa, civil rights leader Coretta Scott King, political activists Ralph Nader and Donna Brazile, and political columnist Charles Krauthammer.