Dawn Fallon

Driving on the wrong side of the road, an accident up the Alps, Force 10 storms, seasickness, being robbed of 200 euros, a brush with bats, blocked toilets and other mishaps...travelling with (or without) Don had its moments!

I thought my journeys abroad were over when I married Don. He flatly refused to fly. Surprisingly, plenty of opportunities to travel the globe by car, ferry, and cruise ship presented themselves.

Venturing to France with Don, who has spina bifida, family friend Geoff, who’d had a stroke, and four-year-old Tim, as well as 89-year-old Harold, certainly added an extra perspective.

Written with warmth and humour, this ten-part memoir spans over thirty years and touches on some of the challenges that wheelchair users and disabled people face, as well as my role as a carer.

I have discovered that travelling with a disability is usually difficult, sometimes scary, and often funny.

But it’s always an achievement.

I published my memoir Confessions of a VAT Inspector in April 2022 and it tells the story of how I abandoned my ambitions to be a professional musician and become a Civil Servant. Little do I expect some of the bizarre situations I find myself in or the curious variety of people I meet. As I visit businesses to inspect their accounts for Value Added Tax purposes, research whether sheep semen is taxable, grapple with solving why a busy Chinese takeaway is making a huge loss, and struggle to understand double-entry bookkeeping, I wonder whether it will become a job for life. Or will I find a way to follow my passion for music?

The first book I self-published was in 2014 and it is about our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and is called Sam - The Busker’s Dog.  It is a “dog memoir” in that it is written in the dog’s voice.  It is a Kindle eBook 

During the Lockdown of 2020 I typed up my father’s 1954 diary which he kept during his year onboard HMS Warrior (R31).  I decided to publish this diary a piece of naval history.