Evan Zanders is one of the main characters and first-person narrators of the novel. He is 28 years old and works as a professional hockey player for the Chicago Raptors. Ever since he began his professional hockey career, Zanders has been known as the bad-boy of professional sports. He often gets into fights and has sex with a different woman after every game. His teammate and best friend, Eli Maddison, is one of the only people “who knows [that Zander is] not the bad guy that the media makes [him] out to be” (5). Behind the scenes, Zanders is a sensitive, caring individual who is committed to helping underprivileged youths. He and Maddison co-founded the charity Active Minds of Chicago, which supports children with mental health challenges and funds their therapy sessions. However, Zanders keeps his soft-hearted self out of the public eye because he fears that no one will love him for who he really is.

The Lingering Impact of Trauma continues to influence how Zanders sees and presents himself as an adult. When Zanders was 16 years old, his mom abandoned the family to be with a wealthier man.