How a concussion gave Amy Stuart a fresh perspective for her new thriller
This interview originally aired on March 23, 2019.
Amy Stuart's debut thriller Still Mine came about after a friend suggested she should try writing a novel for her master's thesis. That dare led to a bestseller. Two years later Stuart has released a follow-up, Still Water.
The novel continues the story of her compelling and complicated protagonist Claire, who is hired to track down a missing woman and her son.
Writing with a concussion
"I coach my middle son's hockey team. I got my feet taken out from under me on the ice at practice. I was wearing a helmet, but when you're crashing down at that speed, it's not going to prevent an injury. I had the typical experience where I was headachy and nauseous, but then I thought, 'OK, I'll just pick myself up and keep going.'
"I had trouble sleeping and I had anxiety issues, but I didn't even associate it with the concussion. Eventually, I started to take steps to address it in a meaningful way. My publishing team was very understanding. It added this new perspective. In most lines of work — but particularly as a writer — if you don't have your brain fully operational, you can't do your job. I had a period of a few months where I would just stare at the computer. When I got better, the writing came back. Life just comes at you and you get thrown curveballs.
"I think the concussion taught me that, especially as we get older and our bodies change, you don't have that same kind of control over what's going to happen, whether it's external or even your own health. I think for Claire, and even some of the other women characters in this story, I was able to understand, from a much more empathetic place, what it feels like to have to accept that things are not linear when you're trying to recover from something, whether it's a trauma or an addiction."
Articulating authentic anger
"I want to stay authentic to a person's experience, women's experiences in domestic abuse situations in particular, rather than using it as a device in the story. I read case studies, stories, listened to podcasts and watched documentaries about real women sharing their experiences. Unfortunately, the news is full of stories about this.
"I was an organizer for the first and second women's march in Toronto. I was lucky to have a front row seat and to be surrounded by strong advocate women in that experience. But I was also angry about what was unfolding. It seemed like — especially in 2017 when I was in the thick of writing — this was every day. But I do think that the anger that has been simmering within me worked its way into the books."
The dangerous Canadian landscape
"How we're beholden to our physical environment is something that interests me a lot — how it limits us or presents a danger to us. Years ago, I remember reading a poem that was on the inside of a subway car in Toronto. It said something like, 'We live in a country where a person can die just from going outside.' That never left me."
Amy Stuart's comments have been edited for clarity and length.