Professor’s hobby becomes a novel idea

Many people have hobbies, but few transform their interest into something they can share with others.

Edward G. Kardos, director of development for the VCU School of Nursing, began writing because he felt it was a creative use of time. The result is his book, “Yours, Aiden.”

“In my situation, as someone who goes to work everyday and has a family, I thought writing would be a great hobby for me,” said Kardos. “As the project progressed, I started thinking maybe I could package this as a story and other people would want to read it.”

The novel is about two young men at a Catholic boys boarding school in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley whose paths cross during a time of transition in their lives. The book follows Sean, a steadfast, follow-the-rules person, after he meets the freewheeling Aiden.

“The story is about self-enlightenment and friendship,” Kardos said. “It is a good reflective piece to pick up and read.”

There are two central themes throughout the story. The first is the importance of living in the present.

“So many people grapple with the past and how that has impacted their lives,” Kardos said.

“The past is gone and it will never come back and the future does not exist yet. You can’t control something that doesn’t exist and you can’t control something that has already happened. So the only time that is real is right now.”

The second theme in the novel centers around the idea of listening to instinct and being true to yourself.

“You only get to go down this road once,” Kardos said. “You don’t get a second chance. Make sure it is your road you are going down.”

Kardos tied the themes of the story together in the friendship of Sean and Aiden, while being sensitive to the issues that young men wrestle with as they enter adulthood.

“It (“Yours, Aiden”) has a great message for people in school who are deciding what is important in life,” Kardos said. “I think sometimes we overlook what is right in front of us.”

There are parallels between the themes in the book and the inspirations that Kardos found to write the novel. Kardos says he writes for himself, for fun and he wanted to write about something that he believes is important. He also discovered that the greatest obstacle to writing came from within him.

“All the excuses over the years like I don’t have time to do it or I’m not in the mood to sit down and write, those were the real obstacles,” he said. “Then I decided that this is what I would like to do so I am going to carve out the time and do it.”

Finding the time to write is no small task for Kardos. In addition to his position at VCU, he is married and is the father of four young children, including twins.

“If I knew ahead of time the time and work that I would put into writing I may have been discouraged from the beginning,” said Kardos. “Looking back, I’m glad I was na