Christian Lotz (30) lives alone in a small town in Saxony. He meets his parents for brunch every Sunday and works at the gym during the week. Muscular and good-looking - his mum raves that he looks like David Beckham in the early 2000s - he is plagued by insecurity inside and basically worries about everything: How does he look to others? Why can't he find the right man? What does the future hold in times of climate change, right-wing extremism and pandemics? And isn't he perhaps already terminally ill, as his daily internet searches would have him believe? His answer is always the greatest possible catastrophe. An existential fear grows in Christian that soon knows no cause. Only when his situation becomes obvious does he open up to those around him - and learns: Fear shared is fear halved. And sometimes all it takes is a spark of courage.

Res Sigusch studied Philosophy and Literature at the Free University of Berlin and Literary Writing in Hildesheim, published various prose works and made his debut in 2024 with the novel "Essential Needs" published by Berlin Verlag; "Unbegründete Ängste" was published by Berlin Verlag at the end of January 2026.

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Book cover (c) Jasper J. Maurer | www.jasperjmaurer.com/Piper Verlag