A woman stands on a rocky overlook at sunset, looking through a telescope towards the horizon. The sky is filled with pink and purple clouds, and there are mountains in the distance.

Identity in Action — Written.

Each book forms part of a wider leadership and identity architecture.

These are not motivational stories.
They are lived examinations of identity under pressure, responsibility beyond role, and leadership formed through experience.

If the work resonates, I invite you to explore further — and when appropriate, leave a review. Reviews help independent authors more than most people realise.

The Identity Series

A four-part memoir arc exploring formation, disruption, reinvention, and long-horizon thinking.

1. Soldier Girl

Formation

A true story of service, identity, and transition.

This is where the foundation begins.

Soldier Girl explores leadership formed inside military structure — discipline, accountability, belonging, pressure, and internal standards that endure beyond environment.

It is the starting point of the Identity Architecture journey.

👉 Read Soldier Girl on Amazon

👉 Read Soldier Girl on Apple

👉 Read Soldier Girl on your device

Book cover for "Soldier Girl" by Gemma Gardner featuring a female soldier in camouflage uniform with a Union Jack patch, sitting on the ground next to pink Crocs and brown military boots, with helicopters flying in a sunset sky in the background.

2. The Transition

Disruption

Release: April

Transition rarely arrives cleanly.

This book examines what happens when structure disappears and identity must be re-examined.

It explores:

• Capacity before clarity
• Leadership beyond rank
• Integration, not reinvention
• Responsibility without hierarchy

This work sits at the centre of the series.

Available April

A woman sitting on a wooden bench by the shore, looking at a sunset over the ocean, with hiking boots and a backpack on the ground nearby. The image is the cover of a book titled 'The Transition' by Gemma Gardner, with the tagline 'Disruption. Adjustment. Quiet reconstruction.'

3. NW Publican

Reinvention

Release: September

Leadership does not disappear when the uniform does.

NW Publican explores reinvention through ownership, entrepreneurship, and community accountability — rooted in life at The York in Morecambe.

It examines responsibility without structure and authority without rank.

This is leadership in civilian terrain.

Available September

Book cover titled 'NW Publican: Reinvention Outside Uniform' by Gemma Gardner, featuring a photo of a historic pub called 'The York' in a small town during sunset, with warm lighting and outdoor seating.

4. The Dreamer

Vision

Release: December

Long-horizon thinking.
Ambition without ego.
Responsibility for what you build next.

The Dreamer examines vision anchored in discipline — and the courage required to shape something beyond inherited identity.

This closes the memoir arc.

Available December

Book cover titled 'The Dreamer' by Gemma Gardner, featuring a woman standing on a rocky hilltop looking at a sunset over a scenic valley with a telescope, map, and backpack nearby.

The 52-Week Identity Journal

Applied Practice

Release: Beginning of March

This structured journal extends the philosophy into lived action.

Across 52 weeks, you are guided through:

• Weekly reflection
• Monthly alignment
• Behavioural awareness
• Identity strengthening
• STEPPPA-based structure

This is not a productivity planner.
It is a disciplined reflective practice for professional identity development.

If you value deliberate growth, this journal becomes a working companion.

Available March

Cover of a journal titled 'The 52-Week Identity Journal' with decorative swan artwork at the top and ornate border, labeled as a forty-two week reflective journal on professional identity practice.

Women in a Man’s Army

Release: 2027

This forthcoming text examines female leadership within traditional military structure.

It moves beyond memoir into analysis — exploring authority, legitimacy, identity under scrutiny, and structural tension.

This book represents the intellectual expansion of the practice.

Book cover titled 'Women in a Man's Army' depicting a female soldier in camouflage with a Union Jack patch, watching helicopters and a line of soldiers at sunset.

Ongoing reflections, applied insights, and practical identity work can be found in Field Notes.

Field Notes explores leadership, decision-making, transition, and disciplined growth in real time.

“Identity is not discovered in comfort.
It is revealed in responsibility.”

— Gemma Gardner