About Michael Eon
Michael Eon earned a BA in psychology from the University of Michigan and an MA in international affairs from Columbia University. A former board member of the Audio Publishers Association and a former producer of major motion pictures and television productions, Michael worked in the publishing and entertainment industries for more than twenty years. Michael discovered the core of this story through the cathartic processing of autobiographical memories, following its evolution into this novel of redemption and recovery. Originally from the New York area, he currently lives in New Hampshire with his family. These Things Happen is his first novel.
Book:
These Things Happen (2023)
Your biggest literary influences:
Hesse, Camus, Kafka, Richard Bach, Robert Pirsig and many more.
What readers will take away from your book:
That there is hope in recovery from addiction.
What is your ideal target audience?
The novel is much more than a story about addiction and recovery. It is also a coming-of-age tale focusing on family dynamics, mental health, and trauma. In other words, you don’t need to be an addict or in recovery to enjoy or benefit from the story. Its themes are universal. That said, the audience would include readers of compelling literary fiction and memoir looking for an authentic voice. It would also include (i) the more than 46% of US adults who have dealt with substance abuse in their families or with their friends, (ii) the more than 27 million people who have had a substance abuse problem in their lifetime, (iii) the more than 20 million US adults who are in recovery or have recovered from substance abuse, (iv) the estimated more than 2 million members of Alcoholics Anonymous and (v) fans of addiction, recovery, family, mental health, and redemption stories.
If you had to describe your book as a cross between two well-known books, what would you say?
In many ways, the novel is a combination of different works. It’s one part “The Wonder Years,” with a dash of local color reminiscent of Jonathan Lethem’s contemporary classic The Fortress of Solitude (2003), yet with the unflinching honesty of Stray, Stephanie Danler’s 2020 memoir on addiction and family. Other works thematically comparable include David Sanchez’s All Day is a Long Time, Lisa Harding’s Bright Burning Things (2021), Justin Torres’s We the Animals (2011), James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces (2003) and most works by Augusten Burroughs.
The book that changed your life:
I took a course on German Literature in college, which focused on Hermann Hesse. I’d read his masterpiece Siddhartha in high school, but it wasn’t until I read Steppenwolf for this course, that I really was affected personally. The struggles of Harry Haller were so identifiable, from the debauchery of his earlier years to his quest for spiritual enlightenment later, that my own personal quest to reconcile the material world with the spiritual world grew in awareness and intensity. This idea of trying to live an “Eastern” life in the “Western” world has underpinned my own life’s journey from trauma and addiction to recovery and spirituality.
Tell us about the protagonist in your latest book, and who would play her or him if they made a movie out of your book?
Daniel Zimmer is an escape artist in the sense that he’s been trying to escape the trauma of his past via substance abuse, which eventually catches up with him and threatens to destroy his life. Since the character’s age swings between youth (10-5 years old) and his thirties, the actors would need to bear some resemblance. I would say, perhaps, Woody Norman (C’mon C’mon) as the younger Daniel and Tom Holland as the older.
If your protagonist could befriend any character from literature, who would he or she choose?
Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye.
Your favorite literary character:
Again, Holden Caulfield, not only because of his rebellious attitude and quirkiness, but because he’s able to maintain our sympathy throughout, even as the author subtly reveals how psychological damaged he actually is.
Reviews/Articles:
These Things Happen: A Journey of Addiction, Recovery, Acceptance and Surrender
BookLife Review of These Things Happen