Day One - Exiting the Pyramid

On December 17, I stopped eating for seven days. I consumed nothing but water, coffee, and an occasional pinch of salt. I did it to achieve cellular regeneration, spiritual contemplation, and a temporary break in my furious, constant consumption of every calorie within ten feet.

I was following in the footsteps of a man who tried to starve himself to death. In 1887, Dr. Henry S. Tanner stopped eating, having apparently decided that he deserved an agonizing demise after failures in marriage and business. As the first few famished days passed, he wondered when the sweet release of death would cease its tardiness. But, by the tenth day, he didn’t feel hungry anymore—in fact, felt vigorous and healthy. He saw no reason to stop fasting, and, in the end, fasted for a month, before repeating the feat repeatedly in the presence of puzzled doctors.