This review was first published on Amazon on 1st February 2026

I read Turning Up: Taking Your SELF to Work as an advanced copy reader, and it’s one of those books that quietly gets under your skin.

Not because it’s loud or provocative, but because it names things many of us feel at work and rarely say out loud. The pressure to perform. To have it together. To be someone slightly shinier, more certain, more acceptable.

What Ian Harrison does so well is slow the whole conversation down. This isn’t about fixing yourself or becoming a “better version” of you. It’s about noticing how you show up, the stories you carry about yourself, and the small choices you make moment by moment.

I found myself pausing often. Rereading sections. Reflecting on my own habits, especially around comparison, self-doubt, and how easily we disconnect from ourselves in the name of work.

The ideas are grounded, thoughtful, and very human. The exercises feel genuinely useful rather than forced, and the writing is compassionate without being soft. There’s wisdom here, but it’s worn lightly.

This is a book for people who are tired of the noise around authenticity and purpose and want something more real. Something that helps you remember who you are, and why that matters, not just at work, but in how you relate to others.

A gentle, generous invitation to turn up as yourself, and a reminder that this, in itself, makes a difference.

Aimee Woodley