My Dead Book is a novel composed of nonlinear vignettes and fragments about a queer man approaching his fiftieth birthday who is haunted by insomnia and his past. In the dead of night, he remembers his friends who died in the late 1980s and 1990s, his years as a teenage throwaway and sex worker, and ruminates on working class survival, queer aging, AIDS, and whether he has outlived his place in the world.
Exploring themes of escape and connection, the narrative follows a Milwaukee bartender entangled in a semiaffair with a younger married man. As he navigates his romantic failures through cruising apps, he grapples with his identity and relationships. His friendships with Charlie, an aging punk from the 1990s queercore scene, and Greer, an unrecognized painter, provide both solace and frustration. The story delves into the complexities of class, sex, and queer intimacy, highlighting the contrasts between insider and outsider experiences.