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Photographs from Eaden
The novel chronicles the life of Marcus Andrews, a
boy who is seeking his slice of personal glory in
his small hometown of Eaden, Montana. He is
entering his senior year of high school and has
fallen short of the athletic fame of which he has
dreamed his entire life. His struggles are
compounded by the burden of his father’s
crippling obsessive behavior and the sacrifices his
mother has been forced to make to support their
family.
When Marcus’s history teacher assigns him and
his fellow seniors an extremely demanding
Montana History writing project, Marcus’s intense
desire to write the best paper ever seen in Eaden
leads him to George O’Sullivan, an old man known
around Eaden for his expert knowledge of local
Native American history, rumors about his
sexuality, and his self-imposed isolation from the
rest of the community. As Marcus’s friendship with
George grows throughout Marcus’s final year of
high school, George shares knowledge and
secrets with Marcus that will change Marcus’s life
and impact his entire family.
Photographs from Eaden follows Marcus’s twelve-
year journey from central Montana to San
Francisco. The story is one of seeking adventure,
understanding what it means to be a part of a
closely knit community, and finding the value and
strength of family.
The novel chronicles the life of Marcus Andrews, a
boy who is seeking his slice of personal glory in
his small hometown of Eaden, Montana. He is
entering his senior year of high school and has
fallen short of the athletic fame of which he has
dreamed his entire life. His struggles are
compounded by the burden of his father’s
crippling obsessive behavior and the sacrifices his
mother has been forced to make to support their
family.
When Marcus’s history teacher assigns him and
his fellow seniors an extremely demanding
Montana History writing project, Marcus’s intense
desire to write the best paper ever seen in Eaden
leads him to George O’Sullivan, an old man known
around Eaden for his expert knowledge of local
Native American history, rumors about his
sexuality, and his self-imposed isolation from the
rest of the community. As Marcus’s friendship with
George grows throughout Marcus’s final year of
high school, George shares knowledge and
secrets with Marcus that will change Marcus’s life
and impact his entire family.
Photographs from Eaden follows Marcus’s twelve-
year journey from central Montana to San
Francisco. The story is one of seeking adventure,
understanding what it means to be a part of a
closely knit community, and finding the value and
strength of family.
| Photographs from Eaden A Montana Story by Brad Bergum |
He found his own basketball under a pine tree near his hoop and shot baskets in solitude under the faint glow of the street
light in the yard. He tried to get the rhythm of his feet, legs, arms, wrists, and fingers to fall into the perfect cadence so that
a graceful and accurate jump shot would result. With each miss, he took mental notes and fine-tuned the offending
instrument in his athletic percussion section. He did this over and over and over and over, focusing on perfection with each
movement of his body—each footstep, each square-up to the basket, each leap, each grip, each release.
Well past midnight a chill came over him and he could go on no longer. The music of his jump shots fell silent, and the
voice it had been drowning out all night whispered in his ear, Eric is dead. Marcus grabbed the basketball off of the concrete
court and hurled it against the thin metal wall of the equipment shed, creating a crash that sent small animals scurrying in
the darkness all around him. He watched as the ball rolled into the shadows before he finally walked back to the house.
light in the yard. He tried to get the rhythm of his feet, legs, arms, wrists, and fingers to fall into the perfect cadence so that
a graceful and accurate jump shot would result. With each miss, he took mental notes and fine-tuned the offending
instrument in his athletic percussion section. He did this over and over and over and over, focusing on perfection with each
movement of his body—each footstep, each square-up to the basket, each leap, each grip, each release.
Well past midnight a chill came over him and he could go on no longer. The music of his jump shots fell silent, and the
voice it had been drowning out all night whispered in his ear, Eric is dead. Marcus grabbed the basketball off of the concrete
court and hurled it against the thin metal wall of the equipment shed, creating a crash that sent small animals scurrying in
the darkness all around him. He watched as the ball rolled into the shadows before he finally walked back to the house.
Book Excerpt