Dawn grew up in Leicester, England and moved to London in 1980 to undertake cardio-thoracic nurse training. From here, her career developed and spanned over thirty-nine years. Her first memoir Hurry up Nurse: memoirs of nurse training in the 1970s is set mainly in Leicester and the sequel follows her to London. Dawn holds a bachelor’s degree with honours and a Masters degree in education. Her career has taken her along many different paths, including midwifery and district nursing. In addition to her nursing career she has developed a property portfolio and is a successful landlady, she has also written some children’s books.