Deagler’s debut pulls in a reader with such an inviting clarity—there’s something about the honesty in this voice that creates a lot of room for the reader to feel and makes for an illuminating and moving read. — Aimee Bender, author of The Butterfly Lampshade

[A] moving, comic meditation on the impossibility of imposing narrative structure on our lives — which, despite our best efforts, tend to be baggy things, marred by loose ends, tedious repetitions and harrowing codas. It’s enough to simply reach tomorrow. “Just give me one more day,” Monk says, and Early Sobrieties is such a wise and piercing book that we believe him. — Charlie Lee, The New York Times Book Review

[Monk] has a recovering addict’s sense of the near-religious profundity of the day-to-day, the wry humor of a sober man among drunks, and a newly clear-eyed view of familiar people and places (or nearly familiar: the blackouts of his drinking days, their unknowability, haunt Monk’s newfound sober ones). — Meghan Racklin, The Brooklyn Rail

Grimly funny debut novel. — Philadelphia Magazine

Deagler’s debut shines as a raw and captivating introspective journey. He blends humor, insight, and sparkling prose to explore the complexities of sobriety and self-discovery. — Debutiful

With a keen wit, an empath’s heart, and a propensity to distill life as we know it down to its purest moments, Early Sobrieties is as solid and self-assured as a debut gets. — Sam Franzini, Our Culture Magazine

Michael Deagler’s novel Early Sobrieties is one of the strongest debuts I have read in years, a book as wise as it is compelling. — David Gutowski, Largehearted Boy

South Philly is a distinct character here, its kudzu of grit, gentrification, and endless mazes of rowhouses bewildering to a soul newly emerged from the chemical haze of addiction. — Broad Street Review 

Lightly existential and very Philadelphia, this debut follows a newly sober young man on a pilgrimage through a city in flux. With inventive set pieces and a dry humor, Early Sobrieties depicts everyday life balanced between the absurd and the sublime. — Nora, RJ Julia Independent Booksellers

Inventive, episodic novel of a 26-year old Philadelphian’s first year of sobriety. Each chapter is delightfully packed with surprises, compelling characters and situations, and the narrator’s awareness of both their absurdity and significance. Deagler’s welcome debut is a gem from start to finish. — Mike Hare, Northshire Bookstore

Early Sobrieties is a deep dive into lower-middle class America and the people who reside there as seen through the eyes of a recovering addict who is trying to find his place in the world. — Mary OMalley, Skylark Bookshop

What a wonderful and delightful book — I could not put it down! With smart wit, spot-on dialogue, and an array of amusingly odd characters, Deagler showcases the complexities of being sober in a society that most of the time is not ready to embrace the likes of a non-drinker like Dennis Monk. Set in Philadelphia, this is a love story to those who call this multifaceted city their home. So, so good! — Kathy Mailloux, East City Bookshop

Early Sobrieties highlights poignantly that in the battle against addiction, each day is an ongoing fight to stay away from your drug of choice and to continue the process of rebuilding your life. […] Deagler’s debut reflects a vivid sense of South Philly as a backdrop to this intimate story and I look forward to what comes next for (and from) him. —Pei Chen, BookBrowse

As much as we delve into our hero’s awkward journey, this engaging & deeply personal novel is a fascinating character study into almost the almost dozen delightfully weird and diverse people kind enough to help our newly sober buddy out. —Seth, Carmichael’s Bookstore (staff pick)

Michael Deagler’s debut novel Early Sobrieties arrives with a fully formed literary voice best described as hysterical understatement . . . What makes the novel cohere, and what makes it such a pleasure, is Monk’s stream-clear voice and his growing insight into his condition. — The Spectator (UK)

Really dug this novel. Funny, wry, honest, unapologetic, and soulful. —Michael Imperioli

Told in episodic chapters and through Monk’s witty, perceptive point of view, Deagler’s debut novel skillfully examines the pitfalls and triumphs of sobriety, the challenges of having no clear direction in early adulthood, and the often winding paths we take toward the future. —Allison Escoto, Booklist

A really skillful piece of writing . . . He really pulls off the very difficult trick of transforming familiar autobiographical experience into something that’s fresh and surprising. You get the sense of someone discovering things in the writing about change and transformation and what those really look like in practice. —Renata Hopkins, Radio New Zealand