International Family magazine - Brooke Allen's Stories

Brooke Allen’s Stories
A Preface by Catherine Wayland

ne day I was sitting in Sea Tac airport in Seattle speaking to an advisor about our very young upstart magazine, International Family Magazine. I was saying, “I want the reader to be fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas around the world.” The advisor wisely responded, “You need more male contributors.” I hung up with my new mission to round out our product and plunked myself down in a seat at the gate of my flight. Next to me was a man tapping away at his computer. He started to engage me in a conversation. Initially I was distracted with thoughts of my mission to find more male writers so I answered a little dully, “Uh-uh. Oh, yes of course.” Somewhere in this man’s words I started to pickup “writer, fables, stories, financial.” Something was clicking. I turned to fully engage Brooke Allen, World Traveler, Storyteller, and Fund Manager. And yes, a man.

Brooke Allen is a treasure to us at International Family Magazine. That day at the Sea Tac airport, the skies opened up and dropped me “a wise sage of the ages”. Brooke is not just a male writer, a contributor, and a storyteller. Brooke Allen has become for us at International Family Magazine, a respected wise man that writes fables as a legacy to his own boys Glen and Davis and shares them with us as his secondary audience around the world. Over the past couple years that I have gotten to know Brooke behind his stories, he is a man who cares deeply for his family in all the past history, present unfolding and future tense.

When Brooke writes, he opens the family chest to share treasures of when his parents met and romanced, mentors he has met in his travels, and a secretary who taught him his greatest job skills. Brooke is the quintessential international family man. He pulls from all the resources his life has afforded him and I believe that he considers himself a wealthy man. Brooke seems to gathers his experiences like the greatest investor of life. And we here at International Family Magazine believe Brooke has lived as fully as any human could. I will never forget the day we got the gift of Brooke. We were a simple magazine that became gilded in golden letters that day. Thank you Brooke, thank you.

It is our honor to feature some of Brooke Allen’s stories this holiday season 2007:

Mourning a Best Friend.
Mr. Rieur
Learning How To Land a Job.
Sally Would be Proud of Me.
Past Love.
Science Takes a Look at Love.
Advice for Grandchildren.
The Magical Power of Imagination.
College Thinking.