It’s weird to imagine that a fucked-up novel like Scott Heim’s We
Disappear could be partly autobiographical. The parts about holding
a boy captive in the basement are not, thankfully. The dying mother who
makes up stories of her own kidnapping isn’t either. But Heim’s
long-awaited third novel does feature a meth-head narrator named Scott
returning home to Kansas to be with his dying mom, Donna, who obsesses
about missing children. Those parts are not far from what happened in
real life.
It took Heim over 10 years to release We Disappear. His first
book, Mysterious Skin, was a haunting queer coming-of-age tale
that was later turned into a Donnie Darko-like film by Gregg
Araki. That was followed by the unrequited horror story of In
Awe, which mostly disturbed readers and left critics cold. Heim
retreated from writing for a while and ended up facing real death and
demons of his own. We Disappear is a more mature, subtle
creation, ambitious in every thread it weaves. I talked to Heim as he
prepared for his first book tour in ages.
How much true crime television did you watch while putting this
book together?
Well, I’ve always watched that sort of TV show—not just when
writing this book. Right now, my favorites are Forensic Files and Investigative Reports, that sort of thing. Whenever
Bill Kurtis is the host/anchor, I tend to love the program.
I assume that you had meth or drug problems of your own. Did
these contribute to the long break between your novels?
Good guess. I went through a long, long period of depression and
writer’s block, and then my mother began getting sick; soon after, my
boyfriend and I started having problems. All of this was fuel for the
terrible fire of drugs. Looking back now, that time of my life is
all somewhat of a blur. I certainly wasn’t getting any creative work
done during that period. I guess I’m one of the lucky ones, because I
managed to pull myself out of that world before it was too late. And
although I never thought I could write about those days, and those
particular problems, I figured out a way to work it into the narrative
of We Disappear.
You say that you listen to music when you write, mostly moody
instrumental stuff. Is there a certain kind of music you can’t listen
to?
Well, I certainly wouldn’t be able to get creative if
country-western music was playing in the background.
[Kevin Sampsell is a writer, publisher of Future Tense Books, and
an employee of Powell’s Books]