A vampire who has lived for over six hundred years turns his attention to the one thing immortality could never teach him - how to actually live.
Through twelve Acts exploring the body, appetite, breath, sleep, grief, love, and joy, the unnamed narrator examines modern wellness culture from the only perspective that could expose its deepest flaw: someone who achieved what everyone is chasing and discovered it wasn't the answer.
Part philosophical memoir, part field guide, part confession, the book moves through centuries of observation - from a farmhouse in Lyon to a cellar in Prague to a park bench in Tokyo - in a voice that is wry, intimate, and unexpectedly tender. Includes rituals, recipes, a dream diary, a glossary of mortal terms, and scientific footnotes, all filtered through the lens of an immortal who finally decided to say something.
This is not a book about living longer. It is about what you are missing while you try.