FIVE MINUTES BEFORE YOU DISAPPEAR

This is not a book about time travel.

Nothing in these pages will let you undo what you’ve done, say what you didn’t, or become the person you imagine you might have been if one moment had gone differently.

This is a book about what stays.

Because whether we admit it or not, most of us live our lives orbiting a single avoided truth. A sentence left unsaid. A feeling buried under practicality. A moment we survived by going quiet.

We tell ourselves it didn’t matter.

We tell ourselves it’s too late now.

We tell ourselves silence was the kinder choice.

And then we wonder why we feel slightly unreal, even in rooms full of people who know our name.

Disappearing doesn’t happen all at once.




It happens politely. Gradually. Reasonably.
This story begins when that process is interrupted.

When someone is given five minutes—not to change the past, but to finally look at it without flinching. To understand the price they’ve been paying without knowing it.

As you read, you may recognize things you wish you wouldn’t.
You may feel defensive. Uncomfortable. Seen.

That’s normal.

If at any point you feel the urge to put this book down and promise yourself you’ll come back to it later, pay attention to that feeling.
It’s usually pointing at something important.

Take your time.

Read honestly.

You don’t need five minutes yet.

But you might recognize the moment when you do.