by Dennis W. Davis
Dragon Diaries
By Dennis W. Davis
A journey through lockdown, resilience, and unexpected paradise.
In Dragon Diaries, acclaimed travel writer Dennis W. Davis invites readers into an extraordinary and deeply personal travel memoir set during one of the most turbulent times in modern history—the global COVID-19 pandemic. But this isn’t your typical tale of quarantine and crisis. This is the story of a family caught between worlds, living through the pandemic not from their home in Georgia, but from the vibrant, chaotic, and breathtaking landscapes of Vietnam.
What began as a limited online series on Davis's popular travel website, The Constant Epicurean, quickly evolved into a sweeping, emotional, and at times humorous memoir chronicling his life abroad with his Vietnamese wife Diem and their children. From the empty skies above Da Nang to the quiet resilience of isolated mountain villages, Davis documents life under lockdown with striking honesty, cultural insight, and a heartfelt sense of wonder.
Across typhoons, sudden lockdowns, closed borders, and intimate family reunions, Dragon Diaries explores themes of home, belonging, and adaptation. You’ll visit the lantern-lit alleys of Hoi An, endure rainy mountain treks to remote An Lao, and navigate the surreal reality of deserted tourist beaches, empty cafés, and shuttered markets. Amid it all, the book pulses with the heartbeat of daily life—homecooked meals, rooftop reflections, shared fears, and fierce hope.
With the flair of Bill Bryson, the heart of Pico Iyer, and a touch of Bourdain’s irreverence, Dragon Diaries is a moving travel memoir, a pandemic journal, and a love letter to a nation that faced uncertainty with quiet courage. It is also a story of family, fortitude, and the beauty that can still be found when the world stops spinning.
Whether you're a seasoned traveler, an armchair explorer, or someone reflecting on your own pandemic journey, Dragon Diaries offers a rare, immersive glimpse into a moment when everything changed—and what it meant to live through it with purpose.
The Constant Epicurean Press is a home for stories that journey across landscapes—both real and imagined. Founded on the belief that every path holds meaning, we publish works that explore the intersections of history, travel, philosophy, and speculative wonder. Whether tracing the winding roads of the American West or unraveling the threads of memory in a post-singularity world, our books are grounded in curiosity, driven by narrative, and guided by a deep love for language. From vivid nonfiction rooted in place and time to fiction that asks what it means to be human, The Constant Epicurean Press brings you stories that stay with you—wherever you go.
The Constant Epicurean Press Founded by author and traveler Dennis W. Davis, The Constant Epicurean Press emerged from a simple conviction: that the world is best understood through its stories—told with curiosity, reverence, and just the right dash of irreverence. The name, borrowed from Davis’s long-running travel blog The Constant Epicurean, reflects a philosophy of living deliberately and observing deeply, whether across deserts, through historic cities, or inside the spiral corridors of imagined futures. The press began as a passion project rooted in the belief that good stories—those that explore history, place, and the human condition—deserve thoughtful presentation and timeless design. Our mission is to publish books that travel well, books that stay with you long after the last page, and books that ask more questions than they answer. From road trip memoirs and cultural reflections to speculative fiction grappling with AI and metaphysics, our catalog reflects a commitment to storytelling that crosses both geography and genre. Every title we publish carries the spirit of the epicurean: a love for experience, a hunger for meaning, and a belief that life is richer when we chase both wonder and understanding. Whether you’re holding a novel about digital gods or a field guide to the American backroads, you’re reading a piece of that journey.
