Charlie is in his late fifties, but as Marcus notes in Chapter 1, despite his age, Charlie is “tall and built redwood solid” (3). In his NFL days, Charlie was known as the “king of pop” because he lived for tackles where he swore he could hear the collision make a popping noise. After Marcus’s collision in Chapter 24, when he feels something snap in his brain, he concludes that the “pop” Charlie loves is the sound of a concussion. Since CTE is linked to repeated head injuries, such as those sustained from contact sports, Charlie’s situation is tragically ironic: His favorite part of football is responsible for his current condition. The sections of Charlie’s point of view throughout the novel offer context for his dementia symptoms, showing Charlie as forgetful, disconnected, and confused about what’s happening in the moment. Alongside scenes where Charlie appears to function normally from the perspective of others, Charlie’s character offers a general idea of the struggles presented by dementia, both for the patient and caregivers. Charlie also has moments of lucidity in which he appears fully in control of his mental processes and able to make his own decisions. Charlie’s choice to pursue the hawk in Chapter 27 is deliberately ambiguous, leaving unresolved the question of whether Charlie’s death is an accident caused by his dementia or a suicide. Marcus suspects that after the visit to the nursing home, part of Charlie understands what is happening to him and that he will continue to degenerate. Thus, Charlie’s lucidity just before his death suggests he has chosen death on his terms, rather than life at the mercy of his disease.

Charlie’s CTE leads him to believe he is a teenager living in the version of the town he remembers from his childhood, symbolizing How Legacy Shapes Identity. Before joining the NFL, Charlie was a star on his high school football team, and later in college and throughout his career, he was praised as a local hero. Since the CTE makes understanding the present difficult and frightening, Charlie lives in the comfort of his past, where he relies on his legacy to help him understand how to interact with his world. The townspeople unknowingly aid Charlie with this task by believing he is just “quirky” and letting him take merchandize from stores without paying. In doing so, they also show how Charlie’s legacy is dependent on his surroundings. In his hometown, Charlie’s illness is not readily apparent because the supportive and familiar environment allows him to appear more functional than he is. The importance of a supportive community is also evident at the induction ceremony, where Charlie experiences the type of attention he did as a player at the school years ago. However, during the drive to the college, Charlie is in unfamiliar territory, and his cognitive symptoms become more pronounced. Without the carefully constructed reality he understands, Charlie becomes confused easily and requires aid from Marcus and McTavish as points of reference. Without his legacy to prop him up, Charlie doesn’t know who he is supposed to be, which shows how his identity is wrapped up in the reputation he’s built.

Troy is Charlie’s son and the star quarterback of his high school football team. At the outset of the book, Troy is closed off and bitter, particularly toward Marcus. Marcus believes that Troy simply feels threatened by his skill, but as the story progresses, it becomes clear that Troy’s negative emotions are rooted in his father’s condition. He feels abandoned by his father and fears that his own football career will doom him to a similar fate. Charlie’s relationship with Marcus fuels Troy’s anger because Charlie gives Marcus the attention Troy so desperately wants. Troy’s decision to quit football at the end of the book is his way of honoring what Charlie went through. Troy chooses not to accept the risks of the game, especially after he sees how the coach and medics callously clear Marcus to return to the game immediately after a concussion. Having seen the risks firsthand, he is unwilling to participate in a sport whose leadership won’t protect him.

James McTavish (Mac) is Charlie’s best friend from high school and the foundation of Charlie’s imagined world. When Charlie first meets Marcus at Three Alarm Park, Charlie believes that Marcus is McTavish because Charlie and Mac used to spend their days at the park. McTavish represents How Legacy Shapes Identity, as Charlie’s memory of his friendship with McTavish forms the backbone of Charlie’s character. McTavish’s reemergence into Charlie’s life also shows the progression of Charlie’s illness. Even when faced with both Marcus and McTavish, Charlie still believes Marcus is Mac because McTavish’s present-day appearance doesn’t match the world Charlie understands. McTavish also represents how deceiving dementia can be. While reminiscing with McTavish, Charlie seems so lucid that McTavish forgets about Charlie’s illness. Almost losing Charlie on the way to the induction ceremony shows McTavish the severity of Charlie’s condition and how dangerous underestimating dementia can be for the patient. McTavish’s perspective is also a wake-up call for Marcus. McTavish is the first person to understand the danger of keeping Charlie’s condition a secret. Having believed that Charlie was fine only to suddenly realize he’s not, McTavish is able to explain his understanding in a coherent way, highlighting The Importance of Direct Experience as a Source of Knowledge.

Chelsea is Charlie’s daughter and represents The Importance of Direct Experience as a Source of Knowledge. Throughout the novel, Chelsea and Marcus clash over Charlie’s condition and how to handle it. As an outsider, Marcus has only ever known Charlie with CTE, which allows him to recognize that Charlie is still a person with desires and agency, something Chelsea sometimes forgets as she navigates her firsthand experience living with Charlie’s progressive condition. Though Marcus’s understanding of Charlie proves critical in the induction ceremony, Chelsea’s lived experience helps Marcus realize that Charlie needs help and is not fit to care for himself despite having moments of lucidity. Following the visit to the nursing home and Charlie’s death, Marcus finally sees the impact of Charlie’s condition on his loved ones. This allows him to end the book on friendly terms with Chelsea, as he has finally experienced the caregiving side of Charlie’s CTE and understands how that differs from simply understanding how the illness works.