ELIZABETH IS MISSING by Emma Healey
May 9, 2019
PERSONAL INFORMATION:
Born February 27, 1985, in London, England. Education: London College of
Communications, B.A. (honors); University of East Anglia, M.A., 2011. Also
attended Central St. Martins University. Addresses: Home: Norwich, England.
Communications, B.A. (honors); University of East Anglia, M.A., 2011. Also
attended Central St. Martins University. Addresses: Home: Norwich, England.
CAREER:
Writer. Previously worked in libraries, bookshops, art galleries, and universities.
WRITINGS:
- Elizabeth is missing (Jun 2014)
- When Maud, an aging grandmother who is slowly losing her memory,
- is convinced that her best friend Elizabeth is missing and in terrible
- danger, she becomes obsessed with saving her beloved friend despite
- the fact that no one believes her.
- Whistle in the dark (Jul 2018)
- After her missing teenage daughter, Lana, is found injured, Jen Maddox
- retraces Lana's steps--a journey that will lead her to a deeper
- understanding of the daughter she thought she knew.
Read-alikes for title
1. The wilderness by Samantha Harvey; Reason: Though Elizabeth is Missing
is psychological suspense with first-person narration, while The Wilderness is
mainstream fiction told in the third person, both are haunting,
character-centered explorations of the confusion brought on by dementia.
-- Katherine Johnson
is psychological suspense with first-person narration, while The Wilderness is
mainstream fiction told in the third person, both are haunting,
character-centered explorations of the confusion brought on by dementia.
-- Katherine Johnson
2. Gone without a trace by Mary Torjussen; Reason: Told by unreliable
narrators, these tales of secrets and obsession will pull readers into the
frantic and life-destroying search for missing loved ones. These compelling
novels of psychological suspense dig deep into disturbed minds. -- Melissa
Gray
narrators, these tales of secrets and obsession will pull readers into the
frantic and life-destroying search for missing loved ones. These compelling
novels of psychological suspense dig deep into disturbed minds. -- Melissa
Gray
3. Before I go to sleep by S. J. Watson; Reason: In these compelling,
complex psychological suspense novels, women with unreliable memories
struggle to reconcile a strong sense that something is wrong -- and that
danger lurks -- with what others tell them to be true. -- Shauna Griffin
complex psychological suspense novels, women with unreliable memories
struggle to reconcile a strong sense that something is wrong -- and that
danger lurks -- with what others tell them to be true. -- Shauna Griffin
4. The pocket wife by Susan Crawford; Reason: In these psychological
suspense novels, both filled with carefully depicted relationships, women
with unreliable memories find themselves at the center of mysteries,
casting themselves as detectives -- and in the case of The Pocket Wife,
as a possible murderer, too. -- Shauna Griffin
suspense novels, both filled with carefully depicted relationships, women
with unreliable memories find themselves at the center of mysteries,
casting themselves as detectives -- and in the case of The Pocket Wife,
as a possible murderer, too. -- Shauna Griffin
5. Trust no one by Paul Cleave; Reason: In these suspenseful and moving
novels about the nature of memory, the main character suffers from Alzheimer's
and has the sense that something awful has occurred. Elizabeth is Missing
is more haunting and character-driven than the puzzle-oriented Trust No One.
-- Jen Baker
novels about the nature of memory, the main character suffers from Alzheimer's
and has the sense that something awful has occurred. Elizabeth is Missing
is more haunting and character-driven than the puzzle-oriented Trust No One.
-- Jen Baker
6. Turn of mind by Alice LaPlante; Reason: Narrated by intelligent women
whose unreliable memories and declining mental abilities make them vulnerable,
these complex psychological suspense stories combine mystery and danger
with insightful portrayals of increasing dementia. -- Shauna Griffin
whose unreliable memories and declining mental abilities make them vulnerable,
these complex psychological suspense stories combine mystery and danger
with insightful portrayals of increasing dementia. -- Shauna Griffin
Read-alikes for author:
1. LaPlante, Alice, Reason: Emma Healey and Alice LaPlante are adept at
haunting, first person mysteries and psychological fiction.Their character-driven
work often features protagonists suffering from dementia -- talk about unreliable
narrators! -- in moving, sometimes bleak tales that function as both compelling
mysteries and trenchant commentaries on contemporary society. -- Mike
Nilsson
haunting, first person mysteries and psychological fiction.Their character-driven
work often features protagonists suffering from dementia -- talk about unreliable
narrators! -- in moving, sometimes bleak tales that function as both compelling
mysteries and trenchant commentaries on contemporary society. -- Mike
Nilsson
2. Watson, S. J. (Steven J.) Reason: Emma Healey and S. J. Watson write
compelling psychological fiction starring protagonists with extremely unreliable
memories who find themselves thrust into incomprehensible situations.
Healey's work has a more leisurely pace and a haunting, moving tone, while
Watson is fast-paced, disturbing, and suspenseful. -- Mike Nilsson
compelling psychological fiction starring protagonists with extremely unreliable
memories who find themselves thrust into incomprehensible situations.
Healey's work has a more leisurely pace and a haunting, moving tone, while
Watson is fast-paced, disturbing, and suspenseful. -- Mike Nilsson
===== printed to here =====
Spotlight: Emma Healey
Two mysteries are enfolded in Emma Healey's Elizabeth Is Missing, a quietly
moving debut novel about memory, loss, and family bonds. Maud, an elderly
woman succumbing to dementia, is convinced that her friend Elizabeth has
gone missing, thus echoing the disappearance of Maud's vibrant sister,
Sukey, when Maud was a teenager in post-World War II London. Understanding
Maud's past loss is crucial to understanding her current anxiety, but which
story serves as the baseline: an old woman's dementia, which makes family
and caretakers brush off her concerns, or a long-ago absence that could evolve
into a case of murder?
moving debut novel about memory, loss, and family bonds. Maud, an elderly
woman succumbing to dementia, is convinced that her friend Elizabeth has
gone missing, thus echoing the disappearance of Maud's vibrant sister,
Sukey, when Maud was a teenager in post-World War II London. Understanding
Maud's past loss is crucial to understanding her current anxiety, but which
story serves as the baseline: an old woman's dementia, which makes family
and caretakers brush off her concerns, or a long-ago absence that could evolve
into a case of murder?
"It's first a story about dementia," explained Healey in a phone call from
England. "There's a mystery element here, but it's not a crime novel." In fact,
Healey's work was inspired by events surrounding both her grandmothers.
Her father's mother was just starting to experience memory slippage when
she expressed concern about a friend who had vanished--as it happened,
simply to go stay with family in another town, as friends soon revealed.
England. "There's a mystery element here, but it's not a crime novel." In fact,
Healey's work was inspired by events surrounding both her grandmothers.
Her father's mother was just starting to experience memory slippage when
she expressed concern about a friend who had vanished--as it happened,
simply to go stay with family in another town, as friends soon revealed.
"But I wondered what would have happened if she had been further along,"
says Healey, "or if they hadn't had so many mutual friends?" Here was a
small mystery that could shape a larger work, Healey realized, and her
grandmother's condition could be effectively investigated within a fictional
framework.
says Healey, "or if they hadn't had so many mutual friends?" Here was a
small mystery that could shape a larger work, Healey realized, and her
grandmother's condition could be effectively investigated within a fictional
framework.
Then Healey learned that her mother's mother had only days to live and rushed
to her side at the hospital, where she wrote down stories her grandmother had
shared over the years as they reminisced. ("She even corrected things I got
wrong," confesses Healey.) Healey recognized that the novel just sparking in
her mind needed a backstory, and these reminiscences "got into the gaps," as
she explains. For instance, a woman who had chased her grandmother as a
child became the "mad woman" living on the streets near Maud's family. He
r condition effectively paralleled Maud's, and she further proved to play an
important part in the family's story.
to her side at the hospital, where she wrote down stories her grandmother had
shared over the years as they reminisced. ("She even corrected things I got
wrong," confesses Healey.) Healey recognized that the novel just sparking in
her mind needed a backstory, and these reminiscences "got into the gaps," as
she explains. For instance, a woman who had chased her grandmother as a
child became the "mad woman" living on the streets near Maud's family. He
r condition effectively paralleled Maud's, and she further proved to play an
important part in the family's story.
Healey underpinned her novel with rigorous research, coming to understand
that dementia is defined by 24 symptoms emerging over time. At the beginning,
Maud exhibits only a few symptoms, but a very specific Healey charted Maud's
deterioration by allowing altogether 18 symptoms to emerge. Among the
symptoms is obsessiveness, particularly regarding past behavior; a dedicated
gardener might become a fanatic with a trowel. As a result, says Healey, "If
Maud is obsessed with someone missing in the present, there had to be
someone missing in her past. It instantly made sense to me that it would be
a sister; it was the right kind of parallel."
that dementia is defined by 24 symptoms emerging over time. At the beginning,
Maud exhibits only a few symptoms, but a very specific Healey charted Maud's
deterioration by allowing altogether 18 symptoms to emerge. Among the
symptoms is obsessiveness, particularly regarding past behavior; a dedicated
gardener might become a fanatic with a trowel. As a result, says Healey, "If
Maud is obsessed with someone missing in the present, there had to be
someone missing in her past. It instantly made sense to me that it would be
a sister; it was the right kind of parallel."
In the end, Healey's work opens up to investigate the ever-shifting nature
of memory itself. "We can never trust memory," asserts Healey, pointing to
siblings with totally different recall of family events or how memories can
emerge or change during therapy. She's also quick to argue that while the
burgeoning memory gaps experienced by someone like Maud can be
unsettling for those around her, we make a big mistake in assuming someone
suffering from dementia is simply a blank slate.
of memory itself. "We can never trust memory," asserts Healey, pointing to
siblings with totally different recall of family events or how memories can
emerge or change during therapy. She's also quick to argue that while the
burgeoning memory gaps experienced by someone like Maud can be
unsettling for those around her, we make a big mistake in assuming someone
suffering from dementia is simply a blank slate.
"There's a person there, with all sorts of things going on in his or her head,"
insists Healey, moreover arguing that we really can't know what's going on in
anyone's mind. We simply need to look for the logic, acknowledging that the
individual has feelings and remembrances and moments of lucidity where it all
connects. Not that she means to give readers a lesson, but Healey does want
to encourage patience. "It sounds very grand, but I wanted to give a voice to
those who don't have one," she concludes. Investigating memory loss, she has
succeeded in creating a character and a narrative that are truly memorable.
insists Healey, moreover arguing that we really can't know what's going on in
anyone's mind. We simply need to look for the logic, acknowledging that the
individual has feelings and remembrances and moments of lucidity where it all
connects. Not that she means to give readers a lesson, but Healey does want
to encourage patience. "It sounds very grand, but I wanted to give a voice to
those who don't have one," she concludes. Investigating memory loss, she has
succeeded in creating a character and a narrative that are truly memorable.
