I really, really enjoyed this book. I loved how Alisha reflected on her life, turning back time to figure hour what could have been. Highly recommend to anyone who wonders if life could be different and takes the jump.

Fabulous inspiration read, making this an easy five-star rating! You're never too old to start over and follow your dreams.

What if you got a second chance to live this thing called life. What would you do differently? Would you change any decisions you've made in the past? That's what Alisha Fernandez Miranda gets to do in her memoir, MY WHAT IF YEAR (ZibbyBooks). She shares how to live life without any regrets. You might end up wanting to make a few changes too .. or not!

Alisha Fernandez Miranda is my hero! First off, for her to take on such an amazing endeavor for the one year of her life... bravo! Realizing her book covered this brave (and HILARIOUS) adventure made me want to read it right away. But I also fell completely in love with her when she came on our Virgin Authors Facebook Live show in January. She is open, so intelligent, beautiful and absolutely delightful. Can not recommend this book (and Alisha) enough. Buy it, escape into her world, and have a few laughs. Truly worth it!

Thank you NetGalley and Zibby Books for the e-ARC of this book.

This was an interesting memoir about a CEO of a successful company who takes a break to explore other career opportunities as an intern. While this was very inspiring, I felt this book wasn't entirely realistic. I am all for taking risks at any age and pursuing your passion but often wondered if Alisha would have taken these risks without the financial support of her husband. I did enjoy the writing style and found Alisha to be funny!

This was an entertaining and deeply resonating memoir.

I'm in my late 40s and I too have thoughts of WHAT IF when it comes to what I could be doing this point of my life of I've taken chances and made a leap to change my job.

I've worked at a hotel almost 20 years ... I was just amused with the internship that Alisha had at Kinloch.

I'm just amazed with this memoir and inspired by Alisha and what she had gone through with the internships she had ... DURING THE PANDEMIC YEAR !!! I wonder how the Broadway internship would have gone if it didn't have to end soon..

Alisha writes with humor with all the mistakes that she has made with each internship ... But she also writes with feeling she mentions her family. I highly recommend this memoir to everyone.

I was very happy to receive an ARC of this book.

This is a great, entertaining personal memoir of a very novel project. It makes you actively consider what would happen if you could just try a new career on to see how it fits.

I admire the self-reflection and honesty that author shares, especially since this project overlapped with COVID. I appreciate the leap of faith she took and it reminds us that we are ultimately in control of our own path, should we choose to make a change for ourselves.

This was a lovely and enthusiastic perspective. Don't we all wish we could take a year to pursue those dreams? I was taken aback a bit more than I probably should've been though by the slight twinge of entitlement that comes across at times. Somewhat disappointing.

I don’t normally give memoirs a star rating, but My What If Year deserves all the stars! Alisha Hernandez Miranda tells us about her “what if” year with honesty, humor, and grace. I was completely captivated by her story of stepping away from her CEO job for a year to explore other job possibilities.

If you've ever been curious about the ins and outs of musical theater, the fitness industry, the art world, or hospitality, then this memoir is definitely for you! And if you aren’t curious (like me), I promise you’ll still walk away from this book with things to reflect on and you’ll laugh and cry along with the author as she figures out what she might enjoy doing.

This book is for anyone who has ever wondered “what if?” What if you made the wrong career choice? What if there’s more meaningful work out there? What if a favorite hobby is what you’re meant to do with your life full-time? And if you haven’t wondered “what if,” I think you’ll still find value in the author's takeaways.

The memoir is real, it’s raw, and it’s emotional. Alisha doesn’t hold back when reflecting on how certain choices led to both a joyful life but also perhaps a stagnant one. I was in tears when she talked about the joys and tough moments of motherhood. I have lots of great lines highlighted in my copy, such as “It had taken me years to truly understand how much I had given up - and gained.”

Alisha’s internships were temporarily derailed during the pandemic. Her recap of February/March 2020 brought back the start of the pandemic so vividly that I was in tears reading that part of the book. The unknowns, the panic, the worry every single day. The monotony, the endless days, tasks to do but no energy to do them. It was a lot and I so appreciate that Alisha didn’t sugarcoat any of it.

I’m 100% positive that Alisha and I would be besties in real life. She mentions the classic movie Center Stage AND makes a Legally Blonde reference in her memoir. And she recaps a Devil Wears Prada tidbit she was told at Christie’s. So yeah, totally #sold on this book.

Thank you to Zibby Books for the digital arc and congratulations on your first published book! I can’t wait to read the other upcoming Zibby Books titles!

Thank you #Netgalley for the copy!

This memoir follows a successful business woman who feels like she is stuck in her current role and life. She gets the idea to take time off and try interning in different roles to see what her passion is, what interests her and where she should go next. Her husband and kids are supportive so she opts to set out on an adventure. Unfortunately her first intern experience is cut short due to covid shutting down Broadway in New York. Though eventually she is able to try a few other intern experiences and helps show that it is never to late to try something new!

This was a fun, inspirational read. Alisha Fernandez Miranda is a funny, relatable writer and I loved coming along for her adventures.

This was a fun, relatable read! I loved that Alisha was willing to try new things and went outside her comfort zone. It made me think about if I got a do-over what career I might pursue and then it got me thinking, why not seriously think about it? I’ve recently been pushing myself to try some new hobbies and see what I like and this memoir really inspired me to keep on that path and be open to new experiences. Love when a novel can speak to a reader in that way. There is a humorous tone to this novel and I really enjoyed it!

A lot of us have done a "What If?" when it comes to our life choices wondering about that path not taken -- but we never follow up on it. Alisha Fernandez Miranda does.

My What If Year details Miranda's bold decision to leave her CEO position for a year sabbatical to pursue her "what if's." During this year, Miranda takes on a number of unpaid internships ranging from behind the scenes work on two Broadway plays to a stint at a luxury hotel on the Scottish Isle of Skye.

Miranda gives her readers an unvarnished account of her ups and downs during this year, which unfortunately was compounded by Covid. Miranda is fortunate that she was financially able to take this sabbatical -- something a lot of people wouldn't be able to do.

This is a fun and engaging read about change and the ability to embrace both our strengths and weaknesses. Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for this ARC of #MyWhatIfYear.

Fun, inspirational, and light-hearted look at making life fun and being mindful about how you're setting up your life. It's a helpful look at a woman's experience and allows for some more self-evaluation. The choices we make every day help create the life we live, so we should be more aware of what we're building. This book was fun and thought-provoking though it erred on the lighter side and I would have liked more introspection and development in the author.

I wasn’t expecting to be so absorbed by this memoir, but once I started I could not put it down. Alisha Miranda is a bubbly, smart, brave woman who I could absolutely see myself being friends with. This is like The Intern meets Glennon Doyle meets Elizabeth Gilbert. It’s bright and optimistic and full of joy, and I think so many women will find her voice and her story relatable. I think this would be a great gift as well—perhaps for an empty nester, or anyone looking to change careers. It is not preachy AT ALL—in fact, I think her self awareness is what makes her so appealing. I really enjoyed this.

Hooray for this book - this was a fun memoir, which is not necessarily my go to genre, I love memoirs but usually read about experiences I either will definitely never have or hope to never have (eg A Place Called Home or In Love). While I will not have @alishafmiranda s experience it is something that while not realistic for my situation was something I’d love to try emulate in some way, even if there is no way I can take time off my work and forgo part of my salary as long as I have kids in any kind of school and university but imaging options while reading Alisha Miranda’s funny and highly readable account of exploring her dream careers, behind the curtain on Broadway, pandemic induced behind the scenes in the virtual fitness class world, in the world of high end art deals …

The author is hilarious and self deprecating as she speaks of all of the fears, joys, trials and successes in the different internships she undertakes in trying to find her path to becoming unstuck. I appreciated her honesty through it all.

As a person who lays awake at night contemplating life choices (akin to feeling visited by the ghosts in a Dickensian plot,) this book resonated. The author demystified some of her most fantastical dreams and her pursuits proved that not all that glitters is gold, but some things continue to shine years after you’ve forgotten their luster. She covers the ghosts of the past, present, and future except instead of being haunted by them, she’s inspired. I only wish she provided a list of internships in all fields so that the rest of us could (perhaps?) pursue some of our 13 year old dreams, too, to change our present and create a new future.

Short synopsis: A memoir based on a woman who decided to pause her very successful career to try something new. Amid the rise of the pandemic,

My thoughts: This was a hilariously relatable memoir of Alisha trying to find happiness and joy in a stressful but successful life.
I loved that her husband and kids fully supported her dreams of trying something new.

The beginning of this memoir happens at the rumors of the pandemic, and Alisha being stuck in NY while her family was in London.

It forced me to remember some of the stressful, and uncertain times during the pandemic. The random things I would do to entertain myself and my kids, and the overwhelming task of being a teacher to a 5th grader, 3rd grader, kindergartner and having a newborn at home!

While I don’t reach for memiors often, this is one I would recommend!

Read if you love:
* Stories of growth
* Pushing out of your comfort zone
* Hilarious and relatable situations
* NY Broadway scene
* Memiors

I really enjoyed this one! This book was thought provoking and I felt like I was talking to a friend while reading this. The author is hilarious and such a beautiful writer!

In her cheerful debut memoir, My What If Year, Alisha Fernandez Miranda documents a year of exploring creative work while on a career break from her consultancy CEO role. Miranda, a Cuban American from Miami, had relocated to London. By early 2020, she was eager to avoid stagnation and take risks by moving into new arenas. She'd long been obsessed with musicals and was lucky to have a friend whose father was a theater writer for Broadway. Her time with Assassins and Flying over Sunset mostly amounted to refilling water jugs and filing invoices, yet it granted behind-the-scenes access to rehearsals, "the dreamiest two and a half weeks of my life."

When this first of four unpaid internships was cut short by Covid-19, her husband and two children had retreated to their Isle of Skye vacation home, where she homeschooled their twins and apprenticed at Retroglow, a friend's fitness company. Exercise classes adapted to lockdowns and went virtual; Miranda handled the social media promotion. Next up was helping a contemporary art dealer at Christie's in London, followed by an internship at Scotland's exclusive Kinloch Lodge. Miranda worked in the restaurant and behind the front desk, exhausting toil that made her, a perfectionist, feel like a klutz.

Miranda self-deprecatingly recounts the mishaps of her interning year, careful to recognize the privilege that allowed "a small hiatus from my real life." This self-help memoir, ideal for readers of Gretchen Rubin and Helen Russell, suggests reclaiming a beginner's mind--a humbling, invigorating experience.