How Covid-19 led a cancer nurse to open a bookshop

Dawn Brewer said the bookshop had become "embedded in the local community"

A nurse from Surrey who treated cancer patients for nearly 40 years has revealed how Covid-19 convinced her to make a drastic career change and open a bookshop.

Dawn Brewer, 60, described how things getting "pretty rough" during the pandemic caused her to reassess the job she loved and start anew.

She was speaking as part of Independent Bookshop Week, which runs until Friday and highlights the cultural and social importance of hundreds of such stores across the country.

Ms Brewer said Word on the Street in Ashstead had become so "embedded in the local community" that staff were even invited to the wedding of two of its customers.

"I was a specialist oncology nurse for 38 years, most recently at St Helier Hospital in Sutton, and I loved it," said Ms Brewer.

"But things got pretty rough with Covid, making me realise that maybe nursing wasn't forever."

An avid lover of reading, she and a friend got the idea for a new venture after attending a course on how to set up and run a book shop.

"Then, in spring 2021, a charity shop on the high street which had closed down the year before came up for grabs," said Ms Brewer.

"It needed a lot of work but was in a good location, so we went for it."

Ms Brewer (pictured second from left) praised her team for helping make Word on the Street a success

Ms Brewer said the shop was particularly tailored to those who aren't online.

"There are a lot more people like that out there than you might imagine, particularly our older regulars," she said.

"It can be quite challenging, but also really rewarding.

"We even ended up going to the wedding of one couple who used to come in here - that's how embedded in the community the shop's become."

Praising her team for helping make Word on the Street a success, Ms Brewer added that a bookshop owner's life was not without its problems.

"Rents are high and business rates have gone up," she said.

"And, because books have a recommended retail price, we can't just put up our costs like a restaurant might.

"Luckily though, when we recently made an announcement reminding customers of how important their custom is to us we got an incredible response."