I’m Finally Ready to Tell This Story

There’s a part of my journey I’ve kept quiet about—not because it wasn’t important, but because it hurt too much to say out loud. Until now.

The Beginning: A Dream of Multilingual Books for All

When I started Fluent, I wasn’t just building a business—I was answering the siren call of a dream.

I imagined a world where any book could be translated into any language with ease using technology. I saw a community of moms banding together to create a world where children saw themselves in the books they read, their faces, their languages, and their stories. Where families, educators, and communities from every culture could read the same book in their own languages. I saw grandparents connecting with their grandchildren in their native language. I saw passing down language as a matter of pride. 

So I took a leap.
I left my job.
I invested my savings.
And I hired a company to build the app that would make this dream a reality.

<— These are my initial drawings for the app. It’s my baby. So beautiful.

When Everything Fell Apart

But the company I trusted to build that app took the money—and delayed delivery. First they missed one meeting, then they got covid, then they changed the person building the app, then that person got covid. No app. I was so naive. I could not believe that anyone who heard the dream would deceive me. No working product arrived. 

It was devastating.
It wasn’t just about the money—it was the hope, the vision, the belief I had carried so fiercely.

And finally, I had to accept the truth of what happened. The app would not be delivered. I lost my way. My confidence. My direction. My voice. I was so confused and embarrassed. All that money I spend when everyone warns you about sketchy app developers. I should have known.

For a long time, I couldn’t even talk about it.

The Quiet Work of Rebuilding

In the years since, I’ve been quietly collecting myself — not just the business, but myself. This is called a pivot, and it’s pretty normal in business, I’m told. (But man! I was thinking more like a nice little pirouette and less like a concrete block thrown at you.) 

It hasn’t been easy. It’s taken time. But I’ve found my way back to the heart of what started this all: the belief that every child deserves affordable access to stories in their own language. And the second belief, which is if it is important… I might as well put in the work. 

The dream is still alive—it’s just taken a different shape.

A New Chapter for Fluent

Today, Fluent makes hard-copy books only that we sell on Amazon. We are re-establishing connections with translators and adding new languages. We are organizing the website and making things easier to use and find. 

We offer bilingual and multilingual children’s books in languages like Arabic, German, Spanish, Tagalog, French, and more. These aren’t just translations. They’re bridges—tools for families to pass on identity and connect, learn, and grow together.

 Soon, we’ll be expanding to offer books in 6 European and 6 East Asian languages, so that schools or multilingual households can have books in more than one of their languages. 

I can’t offer fully customizable books right now like I once dreamed. But I can offer something that will help children feel like their languages belong in books, like their languages are part of the connection ritual with their parents and grandparents and their languages belong as part of their education. My books reflect the heart of the vision I still believe in.

To Anyone Walking a Similar Path

The moral of this story is that even though things get hard… It’s not over until you say it’s over. If you’ve ever felt like your dream was slipping away—if you’ve ever been betrayed, lost money, or felt humiliated by a failure—please hear this: Your dream is important. 

Dreams can change shape. Paths can curve.
But your story still matters.

Thank you for being part of this new chapter in my story.

With all my heart and all the colours of the rainbow,

Hannah

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