An intimate memoir and guide to overcoming impostor syndrome, stage fright, perfectionism, and embracing our most authentic selves, from the former host of Live at 5.

Canadian National Bestselller

"My life was perfect. I was confident and outgoing. I was a deliriously happy wife and mother. I loved my job. That all sounds great, doesn't it? Unfortunately, every one of those statements is false. I was false."

This might seem like shocking honesty, but to Nancy Regan, it's simply the result of dropping a mask she clung to for decades. In her first book, the former television broadcaster gives us a behind-the-scenes account of her experience hosting a newsmagazine with a daily audience of over a quarter million – and interviewing some of the biggest celebrities in the world – all while studiously concealing fear, insecurity, and self-doubt. With remarkable candour, Regan describes how she created the illusion of having it all together because she didn't want anyone to know how close she was to falling apart.
In From Showing Off to Showing UP, Regan explores in lyrical prose how overcoming these challenges enriched her life and now fuels her ability to help others through her work as a presentation coach. Weaving together memoir and self-help, this intimate book takes readers on a compelling journey— from Regan's childhood growing up in the thorny world of politics, through highlights and lowlights of her TV career, to what she considers her greatest personal accomplishment: self-acceptance. Featuring soulful lessons from her conversations with such luminaries as Oprah and bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat Pray Love) and serving up some of Regan's favourite practices for staying grounded in presence, From Showing Off to Showing UP is a powerful roadmap for living a more authentic life..

Nancy Regan is a professional communicator whose talents include TV and podcast hosting, emceeing, and presentation coaching. She also conducts executive interviews with business leaders as an engaging way to communicate their message — and personality — to employees, colleagues, and customers, and legacy interviews with individuals who wish to preserve their life stories for their families. Nancy built her reputation as the highly rated host of CTV Atlantic's Live at 5 for fifteen years, broadcasting to a daily audience of over a quarter million viewers. She also served as the host of Good Morning Canada and That News Show on TVtropolis. Nancy has interviewed many of the biggest stars in the entertainment industry — Oprah, Madonna, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, and Gwyneth Paltrow to name just a few — and has a gift for putting people at ease. Nancy has appeared on stage at Halifax's Neptune Theatre, and in TV and film productions such as Haven, Trailer Park Boys, and Reversible Errors. From Showing Off to Showing Up is her first book.

Nancy Regan's profile page

"Nancy Regan has charted an illuminating, intimate, and unceasingly courageous course through the challenging landscape of the soul. A revelatory, accessible, and searingly honest memoir of one woman's journey to self-awareness."
— Ron James, comedian and author of All Over the Map.

"A crisp, insightful, and inspirational guide to the art of living in the present, connecting with others, and contributing to community. Nancy succeeds in illuminating the darkness and spreading light to others."
— The Hon. Myra Freeman, former Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia

"Nancy has always been good at telling other people's stories; she's done a masterful job sharing her own, with authenticity and good humour."
— Steve Murphy, CTV news broadcaster

"As Miles Davis famously said, 'Man, sometimes it takes a long time to sound like yourself.' I have struggled for years as a broadcaster to do this. Nancy Regan taught me how. For that, I will be forever grateful. It's all in this book."
— Mary Lynk, CBC radio journalist and podcast host

"A beautiful call to live a more authentic and fearless life. Insightful, funny, and unblinking in its self-examination. Read it, and you may get to know yourself a little better."
— Anne Bérubé Ph.D., author of The Burnout Antidote and Be Feel Think Do

"From Showing Off to Showing UP" is a deeply vulnerable account of personal and public life, and an inspiring transformation from self-loathing to self-love."
— Maria Panopalis, co-host and producer, News at 5

"From Showing Off to Showing UP" is so much more than a book. Nancy Regan parks her ego and bares her soul to advance our collective thinking on what it means to look UP. A novel lens on life, it provides an honest and open look at what it means to be human...and will leave you feeling enlightened and ready to rise to the challenge of becoming more." — Starr Cunningham, President and CEO, Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia