This is the story of a long journey across America taken by a father, Antonello, and his eighteen-year-old son Andrea, who is autistic. It is a journey not merely through exotic, breathtaking landscapes filled with light, melancholy, and a rich tapestry of humanity—it is above all a father's journey toward understanding his son. A journey beyond the wall that seems to surround him, beyond appearances, beyond diagnoses, beyond his embraces, beyond his silence. Through his smile.
An itinerary without a map or travel guides, beginning on the day Antonello learns that his son is probably autistic.
The novel is the story the father told to the author, Fulvio Ervas, who has faithfully recorded it—like a painter masterfully rendering what he sees, in this case what he has heard—without rhetoric or artifice.
Andrea's smile is what emerges and lingers, in those who encounter him along the way and in the reader alike. But Antonello's feelings toward his son also surface: "Between Andrea and me there is perfect harmony. We need nothing else. It's like feeling love spread through you, tasting something sweet."
"Don't Be Afraid If I Embrace You" is a pleasure to read—even entertaining—an "adventure" of a book where each reader can discover the journey that speaks most to them.
R.M., 2012