Tell Me When I Disappear

Glen Hirshberg presents seven stories in Tell Me When I Disappear, exploring how human actions trigger supernatural consequences. The collection moves through distinct American landscapes, beginning in a decaying northern California fishing town where locals try to stop a vengeful widow as a storm arrives. This narrative introduces the theme of environmental retribution early on. The tales continue in the Tasmanian wilderness, Rhode Island’s southern coast, and the meth-haunted wastelands north of Los Angeles. In these settings, characters confront dangers that are both personal and elemental. A mother camps outside a drug kingpin’s mansion to save her daughter, only to face older threats rising from the drought-ravaged earth. Hirshberg, known for his atmospheric horror, uses these varied locations to show how memories of wildness retain their power. This book suits readers who enjoy elegiac tones and creeping dread rather than fast-paced action. It appeals to those interested in gothic fiction where nature fights back against human encroachment. The collection does not offer easy resolutions or heroic victories. Instead, it leaves the reader with a sense of loss and impending cost. Hirshberg’s prose focuses on what is being lost and what circles back to claim its due. The stories are organized by setting rather than chronology, allowing each location to breathe as a character in its own right. Readers seeking traditional monster hunts may find this too slow. Those who appreciate literary horror with a focus on atmosphere will find much to consider here.