Benjamín Prado writes his life as illness advances without respite

Published on May 20, 2026 | Translated from Spanish

Writer Benjamín Prado has published a memoir that reviews his literary and personal trajectory while dealing with an incurable neurological disease. The author defines writing as an act of resistance and honesty, although he admits he can still pretend to be better than he really is. The work addresses his daily struggle against an ailment that advances inexorably.

writer sitting at a wooden desk in a dim study, typing on a vintage mechanical typewriter while an abstract glowing neural pathway slowly fades from his temple, scattered pages with handwritten corrections overlap medical documents and pill bottles, a cracked mirror behind him reflects a younger version of himself, cinematic photorealistic style, warm amber desk lamp contrasting cold blue window light, dust particles suspended in air, visible tremor in his hand during the typing motion, ink bleeding from the typewriter ribbon onto paper, medical monitor displaying a flatlining EEG line in the background reflection, ultra-detailed textures of paper grain and metal keys, dramatic chiaroscuro lighting

Memory as a backup system for a failing hard drive 📀

Prado turns his writing into a process of dumping personal data. Each chapter functions as a file that preserves memories before the disease erases them. The author does not use technological metaphors, but the mechanism resembles a manual backup: he selects fragments of his life, organizes them, and fixes them on paper. The progression of the neurological disease acts like a virus that corrupts sectors of his memory, forcing him to prioritize what to keep and what to let go.

The trick of pretending you're fine (like the body's airplane mode) ✈️

Prado confesses that he writes to pretend to be better than he is. Basically, the same thing we all do when we say I'm fine while the coffee slips from our hands. The author has perfected the art of putting on a brave face while his nervous system plays tricks on him. If this were a video game, it would be that moment when the character has 1 HP but keeps moving as if nothing is wrong, only without the possibility of a restart.