From Showing Off to Showing Up

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

“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 dynamic career includes tv and podcast hosting, emceeing, and presentation coaching. She has a passion for storytelling which she brings to every interaction and conversation—whether she’s assisting a business leader in sharing their vision, or helping an individual preserve their life story for future generations.
Nancy built her reputation as the highly rated host of ctv Atlantic’s Live at 5 for fifteen years. She also served as the national host of ctv’s Good Morning Canada and That News Show on tvtropolis, and has interviewed some of the most famous people on the planet—including Oprah, Madonna, Russell Crowe, and Harrison Ford. Nancy is also an actor, having appeared on stage at Halifax’s Neptune Theatre, and in tv and film productions such as Haven, Trailer Park Boys, and Reversible Errors. nancyregan.ca