I am a writer, transformation expert, and self-image alchemist.

I write about identity because every failed change I’ve seen — in business, careers, or life — failed at the same place: people tried to become someone new without changing who they believed they were. They failed at believing they’re allowed to be different.

With books, I lived a thousand lives. They were my first mentors — the first place I learned to try on new identities without asking permission.

Books taught me that identity can be rehearsed, challenged, and rewritten.

My work explores what happens when women stop negotiating with the version of themselves they’ve outgrown — and start acting from the one they imagine.

The Official Line

I’m the author of multiple non-fiction and bilingual fiction books exploring identity, self-image, and transformation — including the STOP IT! series and the Unlock Ignite Transform bilingual editions.

My background is in global change and transformation. Before becoming an author , I spent over 15 years as a Senior HR Director working across FMCG, retail, media, pharma, energy, and technology — leading large-scale organisational change in the UK and internationally.

That work shaped my perspective: systems don’t fail because strategies are wrong — they fail because people still belong to the old identity that once gave them value.

My writing sits at the intersection of psychology, identity, creativity, and real-world change. I don’t write theory. I write from practice.

Change doesn’t stick at the level of motivation, habits, or goals.

It sticks at the level of identity.

That’s why so many transformation efforts — personal and organisational — quietly collapse. People are asked to act differently while still seeing themselves the same way.

My work helps women notice where they’re still playing small, over-justifying, or waiting for permission — and shows them how to shift identity first, so change has somewhere to land.

I’m an introvert, an only child, and I learned to read and write at two.

Creativity was always where I felt most alive — through books, music, art, and language. I studied classical piano, paint for self-expression, and write because it’s how I think.

I didn’t follow the “starving artist” route. I took the sensible one — and became very good at it. But writing never left.

I’ve worked as an international speaker, advisor, and non-executive director — supporting organisations and founders through change, leadership transitions, and growth.

I’m a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (FCIPD), Fellow of the Australian Human Resources Institute (FAHRI), and Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management (FInstLM), and a member of SHRM and the Change Institute.

I published my first non-fiction book in 2017. It was called STOP IT! for a reason. Years of interviewing, promoting, and working with women showed the same pattern again and again: highly capable women shrinking their language, deferring credit, and waiting to feel “ready” before stepping forward.

Men applied for roles they barely met the criteria for. Women over-qualified themselves out of opportunities. The problem wasn’t competence.

It was identity.

That became the thread running through everything I write.

I live in London, travel often, and believe books are mentors, companions, and quiet revolutions. With them, I lived a thousand lives. I want to live a thousand more — and maybe, just maybe, offer that possibility to someone else through my work.

"Smash Your Ceiling to Smash THE Ceiling!

Unlock Ignite Transform".

— Laura Mariani