What Would YOU Do?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Has it ever crossed your mind to just…walk away.? Okay, not now, because walking away from your life would probably be kind of impossible and even terrifying and not one bit exciting or and certainly not a solution.

But just saying. The fabulous Wendy Walker has thought about it—happily, she didn’t do it.  Even more happily, she decided to think about it—fictionally, at least. And make a story about it. A terrific, twisty, surprising story.

Like so many thought-provoking books, this one came out of real life. And out of possibilities. Out of family. And out of love.

(And read to the end for a giveaway!)

When Truth Meets Fiction

Don’t Look for Me began with a thought I had while driving home from my son’s soccer game hours from home. The trip took me on a back road where old industrial towns now sit neglected along a river. Because my son was a captain, he always rode with the team, so I made the drive alone.

The game was a rough one, both in the physical plays and mean-spirited heckling from the sidelines. Our boys left the field demoralized and defeated.

On the way back, I became fixated on how powerless I was to protect my children as they grew into adulthood. Yes, it was just a soccer game. But the feelings became larger than that. I realized, for the first time, that nothing I did could shield my children from cruelty, unfairness and loss that are all part of life. I became overwhelmed by these new emotions.

When I stopped for gas, my eyes wandered to a road off to the right, leading away from the path home. The road was flanked by cornfields on both sides, and went on as far as the eye could see.

That was the moment it came – this flash of a thought rising up from the storm in my head. Walk down that road. Walk away.  

The thought left as quickly as it came. I got back in my car and drove home, the emotional storm eventually dying down. As a writer, though, I have learned to grab hold of moments like this and ask the question – where did this come from? And, more importantly, is this something that other people might relate to?

After doing research, I discovered two fascinating things about this crazy thought. First, there is a psychological explanation for what I experienced. And second, it is, in fact, very common.

Because evolution is a slow process (it can take over a million years for an unnecessary trait to disappear from our genetic makeup), we, as humans, possess fight or flight impulses that are relatively primitive. When we face situations that mimic inherent danger, like an emotional storm in our heads, the impulse kicks in and tells us to take action – fight or flight. In my case, the impulse was telling me to take flight. To walk away. Within seconds, rational thoughts marched in and swept those impulses aside.

But more often than I was aware, emotional pain can become so extreme that rational thoughts are not able to override the fight or flight impulse. People then act on these impulses in ways that have serious consequences. Most missing person cases are the result of voluntary action – walking away.

This second discovery convinced me to write the story of Molly Clarke. A woman who suffered the loss of a child five years ago. Who blames herself for her child’s death and whose family has been unraveling ever since. Her marriage is crumbling. Her son is distant and cold. Her daughter is drowning in her own guilt from that fateful day, unable to move on with her adult life. These unbearable thoughts spin as she drives, like I drove that day, through a downtrodden, eerie town. When she runs out of gas, she breaks. The impulse to walk away takes over and she begins to walk down that road, flanked by cornfields, into the eye of a storm.

Sometime after, rational thoughts prevail and she seeks to find a way back. She sees headlights, then a truck with a man and a little girl inside. She takes the ride, not knowing the danger that awaits her.

That is how the story of Don’t Look for Me begins.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  So you’re Molly.  Torrential freezing devastating rain, deserted highway, gas station closed and a truck with a man and a little girl inside. No cell service. There is NOWHERE else to go.

Do you get in the truck, like Molly did? Why?

And a copy of DON’T LOOK FOR ME to one lucky commenter!

Wendy Walker is the bestselling author of ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN, EMMA IN THE NIGHT, and THE NIGHT BEFORE, with rights sold in twenty-three foreign languages as well as options in film and television. Her next thriller, DON’T LOOK FOR ME, will be published in September 2020. Prior to her writing career, Wendy practiced law and worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Brown University and Georgetown University Law School. Wendy is currently at work on her next novel and managing a busy household in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Find out more www.wendywalkerbooks.com

 DON’T LOOK FOR ME 

The greatest risk isn’t running away.

It’s running out of time.

 

They called it a “walk away.” The car abandoned miles from home. The note found at a nearby hotel. The shattered family. It happens all the time. Women disappear, desperate to start over. But what really happened to Molly Clarke?

When a new lead comes in two weeks after the search has ended, Molly’s daughter, Nicole, begins to wonder. In spite of their strained relationship and the tragedy that rocked their world, nothing about her mother’s disappearance makes sense.

Against her father’s wishes, Nicole returns to the small, desolate town where her mother was last seen, determined to find the truth. The locals are sympathetic and eager to help. The innkeeper. The bartender. Even the police. Until secrets begin to reveal themselves. When Nicole learns about another woman who vanished from town, then discovers a small hole cut into a fence guarding a mysterious, secluded property, she comes closer to the truth about that night—and the danger surrounding her.

The night Molly disappeared began with a storm, running out of gas, and a man in a truck offering her a ride to town. With him is a little girl who reminds her of the daughter she lost years ago. It feels like a sign. It feels safe. And Molly is overcome with the desire to be home, with her family—no matter how broken it is. She accepts the ride. But when the doors lock shut, Molly begins to suspect she has made a terrible mistake.

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