By Dakota Antelman, Contributing Writer
Photo/Dakota Antelman
Westborough – Hockey player Matt Brown drew a diverse crowd to Tatnuck Bookseller in Westborough March 30 to promote the new book he and co-author Todd Civin recently released about Brown’s life after a devastating on ice accident almost a decade ago.
Just 15 years old, then playing for Norwood High School hockey, Brown lost his footing in a January 2010 game and crashed head-first into the boards. The hit instantly paralyzed him, confining Brown to a wheelchair ever since. His book, entitled “Line Change” tells the story of his relationship with sports and follows the ripples of that accident as they have propagated through his life.
“Other books that I’ve written before, I’ve kind of had to coach the person to say, ‘Why don’t we start here first, why don’t we do an outline?’” said Civin. “But Matt knows his story – probably better than anyone else I’ve met.”
Initially targeted towards readers in middle school, high school and college, the book, Brown said, has found its way into both older and younger hands.
“We’ve gotten messages from folks that my parents graduated with and from parents of kids going through school now,” Brown said. “It’s been unbelievable to see that people of all ages are connecting with the story. It’s been a dream.”
With such a wide range of readers opening its covers, the book has been selling well. Their stop at Tatnuck attracted a number of attendees, several of whom entered the event with Line Change already in hand.
Though grateful to be selling books, the Brown family and Civin are more broadly happy to see their story reaching more eyes and ears. Through stops like the one at Tatnuck and more like it in the future, they are simply actively helping share that story.
“This is more than just about selling books,” Civin said. “It’s about sharing belief in a dream and never quit attitude. That is all stuff that Matt stands for.”
