After the Lights Go Out

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A harrowing and spellbinding story about family, mixed-race relationships, misplaced loyalties, and the price athletes pay to entertain. Xavier “Scarecrow” Wallace, a mixed-race MMA fighter nearing thirty, faces the fight of his life as he grapples with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Battling memory loss, migraines, and paranoia, he trains at his cousin Shot's Philadelphia gym, a retired champion boxer to whom he owes a significant debt. To make ends meet during a year-long suspension, Xavier teaches youth classes and lives rent-free in his white father's home, where he confronts the painful reality of his father's end-stage Alzheimer's revealing latent racism. This insight sheds light on why his Black mother left years ago. When presented with a chance for a high-profile comeback fight, Xavier sees an opportunity to clear his name and repay Shot. However, with his memory in shambles and his life unraveling, he must find the focus to survive. The author delivers a gripping, psychologically astute narrative that explores race, entertainment, and healthcare in America, focusing on one man's internal struggle.