99: Leslie Short: What It Takes to Finally Write Your Memoir
Leslie Short has lived about four careers' worth of life — classical dancer, theater owner in Japan, FUBU executive, culture strategist, chaplain, UN speaker — and for years, people kept telling her the same thing after every talk: I need to know more.
Her new memoir, Someone Has to Be the First, is her response to people wanting to know more.
In this conversation, we get into what it actually took to write it — including the false start she pulled the plug on because she couldn't hear herself in the writing, the publisher who told her to skip the outline and "just write," and the moment when early editing notes made her close her laptop and walk away for a day.
One of my favorite parts is hearing about how Leslie printed out all her LinkedIn posts, old-school style, and began arranging the content into a book.
We talk about:
The seven-year-old moment she now sees as the beginning of the whole story (it also gave me a good laugh)
Why she turned down a book deal the first time, because the writer kept slipping into corporate voice instead of hers
How she built her first book's outline out of printed social media posts, laid out on the floor
The pull between writing another leadership book and finally writing the memoir
Her simple and beautiful writing routine: Sunday mornings, Amtrak trains, and no Wi-Fi
What she'd say to the woman who has a story she keeps not writing
If you've got a life that feels too big to fit into one book, or a story you've been saying that you'll "get to one day" — this one's for you.
Meet Leslie Short:
Leslie Short is the founder of The CAVU Group, a two-time author, and accessibility officer for major television and film award shows. She has spent decades walking into rooms where she was not expected and making herself at home.
She's a chaplain, activist, certified mental health aide, certified mediator, and conflict and transformational coach. She's a keynote speaker at United Nations and European Union events around the world.
Her story starts as a professional dancer who lived outside the US for over 13 years across various countries. She opened a theater in Japan — which was rated the best business in the country in 1994. She went on to serve as President of Marketing, Advertising & PR at FUBU.
Her books: Expand Beyond Your Current Culture (her first) and her new memoir, Someone Has to Be the First, released May 5, 2026 — tracing a life built on fearless decisions, from dancing across Europe to building Japan's first male revue show, to advising CEOs and championing inclusion in corporate America.
Natural overlaps with your audience: women who wrote a book as part of a bigger mission, the cost of waiting for permission, showing up fully in rooms that weren't built for you, writing from lived experience rather than credentials.
Connect with Leslie:
Leslie's website: thecavugroup.com
Someone Has to Be the First on Amazon
Leslie on LinkedIn
Leslie on Instagram
Leslie on Facebook
Connect with Jacqueline Fisch:
Timestamps:
00:00 Meet Leslie Short
01:07 Someone Has to Be First
02:41 First Book Origin Story
04:04 Finding the Right Publisher
06:12 Book Outlining From Social Posts
09:25 Writing and Editing Flow
11:56 Why a Memoir Now
13:35 Memoir Shaping and Cuts
17:12 Writing Routines and Deadlines
20:17 Memoir Boundaries and Privacy
21:56 Reader Reactions and New Doors
24:58 Advice Just Write
27:12 What’s Next for Leslie
