“Fear in the Body” tells of a search that becomes unexpectedly complicated until the life of the protagonist Daniel is put in danger. Its author, Empar Fernandezclarifies: “Although fiction is just that, it would be interesting and desirable if it helped broaden the focus of our vision and help us understand and empathize with families with an autistic child. They often need the help of the state.” unable to “deliver”. As is often the case, the idea has its origins in the daily press, particularly in reading good news in the midst of so many disasters. In one state in the United States, an autistic minor was tracked down after being missing for three years. As I did a little more research, I came to the conclusion that the periods of time a child diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) remains lost are separated from their family or teachers during a school trip is, are extraordinarily long. Although every “autistic child” is different, it is very common that, in the event of disorientation, an autistic person avoids contact, that he runs away, that he does not try to communicate or ask for help. He will almost always be doubly lost.”
He was always interested in “characters who present some difficulties, and in this sense the autistic child, disoriented on the streets of a big city and surrounded by people he does not know and with whom he does not want to approach, was quite a challenge. “. After reading the formal information that we can all easily access, I interviewed two teachers who share daily life with these children in a specialized center. I thought they could advise me and tell me how Daniel would react if he found himself completely alone in one of the most visited neighborhoods in Barcelona. It’s never easy to put yourself in another person’s shoes, and when that other person is a seven-year-old child with a mental disorder, it’s a little more complicated. A child who needs fixed references, fixed routines and people who know them at all times.
The title alludes to the fact that “fear, terror in its purest form, comes to us when we lose sight of a son, a brother, or a child for whom we have taken responsibility. An absence of a few minutes produces a reaction that… causes us to scream, run and despair hopelessly. This is what happens to Lucía, Daniel’s mother, when she notices that he has disappeared. And it is also what Mauricio Tedesco, the inspector of Mossos d’Esquadra, intervenes in the case, experiences, investigations and who has an emotional attachment to the lost creature. A police officer nearing retirement with a dark personal history, an inspector whose main skill is recognizing himself in others and wearing the skin of the other, be it the victim or the criminal.
Fear in the body
Empar Fernandez
Alrevés, 304 pages, 20 euros
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