Kind of like watching a train head toward a broken bridge. You can see the crash coming, but there's nothing you can do to stop it. The book is terribly sad and made me rethink my own enthusiasm for hockey fights.

this book broke my heart. sweet derek, who loved kids and interacting with his community. big lovable derek, who had to have extra strips of fabric sewn on to his jerseys because they were too small for his 6’8 frame. a kind, shy, polite boy who didn’t deserve what life gave him. his story is horrible, but knowing he was such an endearing person makes it that much worse. i’ll be thinking about this book for a very long time, and most definitely everytime i watch a hockey game.

Heartbreaking and infuriating. Branch's writing is so incredibly effective, particularly the last dread-filled march through the beginning of 2011. An important and affecting read for fans of any sport.

A book that captures the essence of an improbable role player in the sport of hockey — that of the enforcer — through the personal, sad story of an all-timer. Branch brilliantly tells Boogaard's full story and a larger one about why these players are revered and the damage the sport takes on them.