These Things Happen received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Michael Eon.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
These Things Happen, 9/19/23
What’s the book’s first line?
With the palms of his hands on his pale cheeks, Max sat at the kitchen table and moaned in pain. It was the morning of October 30, 1995—a Monday—and my older brother had just tried to kill himself.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Daniel Zimmer will do almost anything to end his pain—except for the one thing that might work.
Growing up in 1970s Brooklyn under the shadow of his tyrannical father and against the backdrop of the Son of Sam murders, the Karen Ann Quinlan tragedy, and the New York Yankee’s back-to-back championship seasons, Daniel Zimmer struggles to find a sense of safety and belonging. Daniel and his brother Max find moments of solace in the rebellious rhythms of early punk and metal bands like the Ramones and Judas Priest. But when faced with an unexpected family tragedy—for which he feels responsible—Daniel discovers the magical escape that alcohol can provide, numbing his pain and guilt.
Carrying the trauma of his youth into adulthood, Daniel falls deeper into alcoholism as he fights to face life on life’s terms. Then, just as he finally begins to embrace sobriety, Max attempts suicide and Daniel’s ex-fiancée makes an unexpected reappearance. Forced to face his demons head-on, Daniel struggles to take it “one day at a time.”
Flashing through Daniel’s life, past and present, this nostalgic ode to Brooklyn is an unflinchingly honest account of the inevitable ups and downs of recovery and coming of age. Ultimately, it is a story of the ravages of generational abuse and the power of recognizing addiction and opening the door to the possibilities of redemption.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
In college, I wrote a great deal of freeform poetry about active addiction and its hold on me, as well as what I believed at the time to be the causes for my desire, since childhood, to escape and numb my emotions through drug and alcohol use. Twenty years later, consumed by active addiction, rage, hatred, and hopelessness, I sought help through Alcoholics Anonymous. After a few years in a state of what I would call “stark raving sobriety,” I finally got the courage to ask someone to take me through the Twelve Steps as outlined in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. As part of that process, I began to explore in greater detail and depth the moments of my life—the memories and experiences—that seemed to govern my existence . . . my emotions, character, and personality. As part of that process, I uncovered those things that had served to hold me back from spiritual growth. Resentment and fear were the two main offenders and consequently needed to be dealt with before any semblance of peace could be had. The Twelve Step process enabled me to understand that these issues were the root cause of my dis-ease, not the drinking and the drugs. I took the writing I’d completed in Step Four of the Twelve Steps and fleshed it out into memory stories—expanded autobiographical scenes as I had remembered them. Although filled with a great deal of anger, resentment, denial, guilt, etc., the end result was extremely cathartic. These entries served as the starting point for this, my debut novel, which took a number of years to complete.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
As a coming-of-age tale focusing on family dynamics, mental health, and childhood trauma, readers will find the novel’s universal themes highly relatable. Although the novel’s main character suffers from alcoholism, one need not be an alcoholic to identify with the setbacks and triumphs Daniel Zimmer faces in his battle with active addiction all the way through recovery to redemption. The novel’s main theme of how to live life on life’s terms is a universal proposition faced by all humans, not just addicts. It is my hope that the novel with provide all people with not only hope, but specific tools to live their best life.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
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. Daniel reminds me of Holden Caulfield, not only because of his rebellious attitude and quirkiness, but because, like Holden, he’s able to maintain our sympathy throughout the novel, even as the reader comes to understand how psychological damaged he actually is.