An Introduction to Friendly Fables

Over the next few weeks, we will take a break from our discussions of finance in order to introduce our readers to a very touching story about a man named Alexis Rudnick, a close friend of The Giordano Group’s. Just over a year ago, Alexis’ life was unexpectedly flipped upside down. As you read through Alexis’ story, we believe you will experience great gratitude for the commitment to his family and selflessness exhibited during an uneven period in their lives.

For The Giordano Group, our greatest appreciation for Alexis’ story is his ability to turn a negative situation into a positive. Through hard work, determination, and a risky leap of faith, Alexis was able to achieve his dream career and make light of a difficult period in his and his family’s lives.

Without further ado, we hope you enjoy Alexis’ story.

————————————————————————————————————————

Written by Alexis Rudnick

My name is Alexis, but my friends call me Lexy. I am a proud husband, father, pet owner and recently – by a twist of fate – a children’s author.

Almost two years ago my son, Lochlan, was born (our second child). I can still remember the day vividly; a day I will never forget as my wife almost gave birth on the 407 instead of Markham Stouffville Hospital. After a whirlwind delivery we left the hospital and thought everything was alright. It was such an exciting and nerve racking time but it was about to get worse. We discovered our son had a minor medical condition that was going to require extra care. We knew something was wrong but it took them 3 weeks to find it. It was a tough time for our family.

It really hit me hard. All I wanted to do was to be with my son, daughter and wife. I wanted to hold them close because for the first time in my life it seemed like I was a passenger instead of a driver. And the best thing I could do to support myself and the people I loved was to be with them.

I had started a digital advertising agency with two friends out of university and had been managing it for 12 years. I was confronted with another difficult decision. My head was not in the right place. I wanted to be with my family during the day, not speaking with clients. I wanted to hold my son, not hold a boardroom meeting. I felt I wasn’t being fair to my business partners who were also my friends. They were incredibly supportive. At the end of the day they needed me or someone to fill my shoes and I had to make a decision. I chose my family. I will never regret my decision because although we had to make some hard choices in the months that followed leading up to my son’s surgery, it was and will forever be the best time of my life.

My metaphorical tank was constantly full. I was surrounded by my family and it felt right in a time that felt wrong.

I have always been an avid writer. When I was a youth I wrote mystery stories. In university I wrote poetry in an attempt to woo the opposite sex. In my 20’s I watched a lot of movies so I wrote some screen plays. I fell in love with fantasy stories so I wrote an 80,000 word saga called ‘The Tiers of Existence’ in a time before children. Unfortunately, I never ended up doing anything with my stories. They became dreams on the shelf.

Something exciting happened during those 10 months surrounded by my family though. I started writing again with vigour and I was writing stories to entertain my children. I have a love of rhyming and it seemed to capture the attention of my daughter, who was three at the time. It became a hobby, anytime I had some time to myself, which wasn’t long, I would write a short rhyming story. Before I knew it my daughter was asking to hear the stories again and again and I had amassed 75 stories over the course of the summer. With encouragement from my wife and sister I sent the stories to publishers and agents across the world after not hearing any responses. I was put in touch with a small independent publisher in San Diego called ‘Author Source’. They loved my stories and my concept for a monthly book subscription service for kids. With their help, and after finding a talented illustrator in Brazil, I independently started creating the books from scratch. It was an incredibly fulfilling project and something I look back on with great fondness.

After approximately 10 months, we were getting ready for my son’s surgery and I was also getting ready to publish my first story.

I am proud to share with you today, almost 2 years later, my son is happy and healthy beyond belief and I have published 12 stories available in stores and online.

‘Friendly Fables’ is the culmination of something negative that turned into something positive and I’m excited to share with you today with the help of my friends at the Giordano Group. My dream now that my son is happy and healthy is to be the next Robert Munsch.

My family’s experience after the birth of my son led to me becoming an active ambassador for The Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto, where I share my stories monthly via a livestream reading to all children in the hospital. We owe a lot to the folks at SickKids.

On November 22nd, I held an event in partnership with The Hospital For Sick Children. The goal of this event was to generate book donations that will be given directly to patients at SickKids, particularly those going for overnight surgery and stays. My family and I have personally donated 1000 copies of ‘Heroic Hospital Quest’ (a story from my book series) to the SickKids Foundation. Our goal is to match or even surpass this donation with help from our readers, friends and the Toronto SickKids Community. I want to help these children feel like heroes during their hospital stay!

Recently, I have been visiting elementary schools to hold readings and creative writing workshops while promoting the series. My program has been making kids want to write and read – something I’m incredibly proud of!

I was recently contacted by a parent I attended high school with almost twenty years ago. She told me her Grade 5 daughter and Grade 2 son came home from school and, inspired by my storytelling, started writing their own stories. She went on to say that they had never done this before. This warmed my heart. I would love to continue engaging with students and inspiring a new generation of writers and readers.

I was very touched when Gene and his fantastic team told me they wanted to share my story with you. Thank you for reading. If you’d like to learn more please feel free to email me at alexis@friendlyfables.com or visit my website www.friendlyfables.com . I’m also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – if you use these platforms, let’s connect!

Sincerely,

Lexy