MY WHAT IF YEAR

An exuberant, hilarious memoir about a successful, Latinx CEO and mother of twins who in midlife pauses her career for a year to explore the “What If” jobs of her dreams. On the cusp of turning forty, Alisha Fernandez Miranda has climbed the mountaintop of personal and professional success. She's a high-powered CEO of her own consulting firm yet can't stop thinking about the dream jobs she never pursued. What If she pressed pause on her life to try the careers that she idealized as a young woman? Could she become a 40-year-old intern?
And write about it?!
Delightfully irreverent, My What If Year recounts Alisha's year of adventures and mis-adventures as she dips a toe in the careers that she idealized as a young woman. With the reluctant blessing of her husband and their eight-year-old twins, Alisha signs on as an intern at a Broadway theater, a London art gallery, a Scottish luxury hotel, and a virtual fitness studio (livingroom Zumba!)-only to discover a long-buried question: Why didn't she do what she most wanted to do until now? Contending with a complete lack of experience (and the onset of a global pandemic), Alisha gofers for two high-profile Broadway productions (and nearly tramples Stephen Sondheim), attempts to master a fitness regimen called Voga (a cross between yoga and “voguing”), feigns confidence while handling multi-million-dollar artworks, and sets her blouse on fire while serving a rack of lamb in a posh hotel on Scotland's remote Isle of Skye. Her experiences-both challenging and extremely humbling-push the boundaries of what Alisha thought she was physically, mentally, and emotionally capable of and show how to achieve success on her own terms by embodying the spirit of the intern: never stop learning, be flexible, and understand that failure is a vital prerequisite for growth. For anyone who's ever felt stuck in a rut, My “What If” Year proves that it's never too late to chase down the what-ifs, second chances, and roads untraveled throughout one's life.

Alisha Fernandez Miranda is CEO of I.G. Advisors, an award-winning social impact intelligence agency that consults with the world's biggest non-profits, companies and foundations on their philanthropy and social impact. She counts among her clients the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation and UN Women. She speaks and writes regularly on women's empowerment, social impact and sustainability.