The Unexpected Guest

For years, "Fisher King Mike" wandered the streets of LA, preaching to his people. On occasion, he’d share an open mic night with Michael Konik, who befriended the homeless man at a distance and offered a confused but sympathetic ear when the Fisher King lamented having to be so far away from his wife, Selena Gomez, and their several children. As the pair began to cautiously trust one another, confusion and distance gave way to friendship, and what came next astounded them both. In this poignant memoir from bestselling author Michael Konik, “family” and “home” take on profound new meaning through one person’s care for a stranger. Konik offered extra food when his unlikely new friend came by, a pair of pants when it was clear he needed them, and wondered how much he, as a person, owed the troubled Fisher King. When Konik and his wife offered Mike a place in their home, handy as he turned out to be with household projects, they were delighted with his transformation from Fisher King to Caretaker. Gone was the man who gave sermons about his estate next door to Kanye West, and the man drifting through life, wondering at his purpose and what was missing. What each never saw coming was their own transformation and the lessons they’d learn in what it meant to not only be good people, but be human.