How would you describe your family or your childhood?
Is “non-existent” too harsh? Harsh or not, it’s the truth. When I was a few days old, my birth parents left me at The Gate of Hope in Singapore, wrapped in rags to hide how sick I was. Maybe they didn’t know that what looked so bad was only eczema and jaundice—both easily treatable. I was raised by Sisters at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus. They, along with the other orphans, are the only family I’ve ever had.
It could have been worse, though. I got an education I might not have otherwise received, and I learned I could be more than a maid, even though that was all that was expected of me. I was the only orphan from CHIJ who made it. I only wish I could show everyone in Singapore who I became—but there’s no way to celebrate my wins without losing the life I’ve created.
What was your greatest talent?
My fighting spirit. I was never going to just accept what little the world gave me. I saw at a young age that if I wanted to change my station in life, I would have to make my own destiny.
Significant other?
I’m married to my work, which is fine—people are too complicated, especially when they get too close.
Where do you live?
The Venice Canals in Los Angeles.
Do you have any enemies?
Apparently so. Right now, someone is anonymously texting and threatening to expose me. The entrepreneurial world is cutthroat and competitive, and there are plenty of people who would want what I have—or would like to see me fail. But something about these messages feels more personal. Now I just have to find out who, and make sure they don’t unravel the world I’ve so carefully constructed.
What do you do for a living?
My favorite subject! I’m the founder of Amala, an Ayurvedic skincare line that focuses on natural products for people of all skin tones. I saw a need for products that suited brown skin, and because I suffered from terrible eczema as a child, I knew the best ways to honor and nourish darker skin.
Now, I’m on the verge of winning the Global Changemakers Award—the most revered entrepreneurial honor—and Amala is on the brink of a necessary and pivotal merger. With so much hanging in the balance, my life has to be about my work.
Greatest regret?
Leaving Sister Francis, the woman who raised me, and the orphans I grew up with—without saying a word. No one knows the feeling of abandonment better than I do, and I’m sorry I had to do that to others.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
Sewing and needlework help center me. It was an essential skill when I was growing up at CHIJ, and the Sisters made sure it was part of the curriculum. It’s the only aspect of my old life I brought with me into this new one. When I’m feeling adrift, pulling a thin needle through cloth to make the perfect featherstitch reminds me of who I am and how far I’ve come.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
While I was getting my MBA at London Business School, I was taught that there are no failures—only new opportunities to succeed.
What keeps you awake at night?
The thought of someone finding out my true identity—and losing everything I’ve worked so hard to build.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
How to save my company—and how to save myself. Amala is on the precipice of becoming the company I always knew it could be: one that serves people who look like me, and who’ve had skin conditions like mine. But research and development for my new dermatitis-focused line have used up all the company funds and we are on a path toward insolvency.
Now, I’m at the mercy of a merger that would give Amala the cash it needs to thrive—but the CEO on the other side of the deal wants the company, just not with me leading it.
I have to find a way to keep the business I built, because without it, I’ll have nothing left. I don’t have a family, romantic relationships, or even friends—because the best way to protect secrets is to make sure no one gets too close.
Is there something that you need or want that you don’t have?
Does anyone ever have enough? Isn’t more always better? I’ve built my life around that philosophy and sacrificed so much to get everything I have now. Sure, sometimes it would be nice to have friends or family to share it all with—but people come with complications, and money does not. At least, that’s what I’ve always believed.
SAVING FACE by Mansi Shah
People love a rags-to-riches story but hate a woman who lied to get ahead.
Ami Shah is on the brink of life-changing success. Her skin-care empire, Amala, is set for acquisition by a Fortune 500 company, and she has just been nominated for the Global Changemakers Award, the most revered entrepreneurial honor. There’s just one problem: she’s a complete and utter fraud.
Twenty years ago in Singapore, abandoned orphan Monica Joseph made a decision to steal her wealthy classmate’s identity and move halfway around the world to build her life on someone else’s name. For twenty years, she’s managed to hide in plain sight…until an ambitious fledgling journalist sets out to write the inaugural full-length profile on her. With her carefully constructed persona and life’s work now in jeopardy, Monica is left with no other choice: she must return to the scene of the crime—and the one place she vowed never to revisit.
Home.
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About Mansi Shah
Mansi Shah writes novels centering Gujarati characters that speak to generational differences across the Indian diaspora, and she’s the author of the acclaimed novels The Direction of the Wind and The Taste of Ginger. Shah was born in Toronto to Indian immigrants, raised in the midwestern United States, and is now based in Los Angeles, She left her long-time career as an entertainment attorney in Hollywood to travel the world and write full time. She loves to cook and is often experimenting on new culinary creations that blend Indian flavors with other cuisines.
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