Eric is a historian of psychiatry. His first book, Mind Games: American Culture and the Birth of Psychotherapy, explored the origins of psychotherapy in the United States. His current project, Do No Harm: Osheroff v. Chestnut Lodge and the Future of Psychiatry, explores the origins of the explosive growth of psychotropic medications in the United States beginning in the late 1980s and continuing to the present day.

Eric earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1994 before joining the University of Chicago as a William Rainey Harper Instructor of Social Science. While at Chicago, he became one of the youngest and only non-tenure-track faculty members ever to win the prestigious Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

After a successful academic stint cut short by a dismal job market, Eric transitioned into the corporate and then non-profit world, contributing to organizations such as the D. E. Shaw group, Pfizer, McKinsey & Company, The Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration, The Bi-Partisan Policy Center, and several non-profit health-focused foundations and associations. During this phase, he focused primarily on innovative drug development and regulatory strategies, particularly for central nervous system disorders, before establishing his own consulting practice.

Eric returned to full-time writing during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he began research for his forthcoming book, Do No Harm: Osheroff v. Chestnut Lodge and the Future of Psychiatry. This project also inspired a This American Life episode and a highly regarded website about the case. As a Georgetown Law Scholar at the Georgetown University Legal Center in 2023, Eric delved into the legal dimensions of psychiatry, an issue that factors prominently in Do No Harm.

In addition to Do No Harm, Eric is working on an untitled biography of Philip J. Hirschkop, one of the most influential civil rights attorneys of the past century, who represented Richard and Mildred Loving in the landmark case, Loving v. Virginia (1967). This work builds on his interest in exploring the intersections of law, society, and individual rights.

Eric lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife and best friend, Elise. They have two daughters and have been together for nearly 36 years, a partnership that began in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Represented by Don Fehr of the Trident Media Group (TMG), Eric continues to inspire through his writing and teaching, drawing on his rich personal and professional experiences.