alex rodriguez

My name is Alex Bendayan, a Venezuelan-born author navigating the uncharted waters of storytelling. My journey to becoming a writer is anything but conventional—it’s a story of survival, resilience, and finding light in the darkest of places. I grew up in Venezuela, a country once vibrant and full of promise. But as the years passed, the grip of dictatorship tightened, and life became a relentless struggle for freedom, safety, and hope. Words were often my only refuge. As chaos surrounded me, I turned to books, finding solace in the worlds crafted by authors who had the courage to dream and the skill to turn those dreams into stories. Their words became my escape, my armor, and my inspiration. However, the walls of oppression eventually closed in. The life I knew was no longer sustainable. I had to leave behind everything—my family, my friends, and the streets that had witnessed my first steps. With a heavy heart and a suitcase filled with little more than memories, I fled Venezuela, seeking safety in a foreign land. It was during those first sleepless nights in exile that the seeds of my writing career were planted. The silence of displacement was deafening, but it gave me the space to reflect. I began scribbling down fragments of stories—pieces of a life torn apart, stitched together with hope. Those scribbles evolved into narratives, and soon, I found myself immersed in the world of writing. My debut novel, Through Shattered Glass, is more than just a story about mirrors and alternate realities. It’s a reflection of my own experiences—the fractured choices, the battles with unseen forces, and the struggle to find clarity amidst chaos. The mirrors in my story are a metaphor for the countless versions of myself that could have been, had life taken a different turn. As a novice author, every step in this journey feels monumental. Writing has become my way of reclaiming my voice—a voice silenced by oppression but amplified through storytelling. Through my books, I hope to reach readers who, like me, have faced uncertainty and fear, and remind them that even in the darkest reflections, light can be found. I am Alex Bendayan, and this is just the beginning. My stories are my rebellion against silence, my tribute to resilience, and my love letter to the power of imagination. Writing is not just my craft; it’s my liberation.