How To Kill Time While Waiting To Die

Bryan has just turned 30 and is trying to survive in a world to which he feels he doesn't belong. He still has no path, no purpose, no partner, and no particular interest in anything apart from drinking and writing stories he expects no one to read. Things get worse as the Covid-19 lockdown sees him moving back in with his parents, quickly causing him to plot his escape in no specific direction other than 'heading south'. Drifting from place to place, job to job, beer to beer, woman to woman, and failure to failure - all the while seeing no meaning to what he or anyone else around him is doing - Bryan's life spirals increasingly out of control in this existential and dark-humoured novel.

"No doubt my writings would never be read by anyone - my manuscript gathering dust in some dark, forgotten corner - but it at least gave me something to do while stuck here on this earth. This was it, essentially, the bargain of human existence. Every man or woman had to find something, no matter how trivial, to give their life some fundamental meaning. Kids, careers, travelling, gardening, music, art, football, vinyl collections.... hell, even something as stupid as taking pictures of trains. The important thing was finding something to do to help pass the days and weeks and years. At the end of the day, we were all killing time while waiting to die."

'An existential black comedy centred around the misadventures of a nihilist.'

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Ryan Millward is the author of four books, including The Thoughts From The Wild, Lab Rat, and No Filter Necessary. His writing is a distinctive, poetic mix of prose and philosophy. It is written in a first-person perspective to show the world through his own eyes, which is typically that of the outsider or nomad. You can read some of his work on his website:

www.ryanmillward.com