
05/07/2025
This is painfully personal. So not my usual type of post. It's not a story about forgiveness in the way most people understand it, but some stories change how you see the world.
In 1998, our family's world shattered when my younger brother Simon was brutally murdered. He was just 30.
Grief like that doesn't disappear. It settles beside you, quiet and constant, reshaping everything you thought you knew about justice, healing, and what it means to be human.
We all carry our own grief, but my brother Nick Dawson, Simon's twin, has shouldered the burden for our entire family for over 25 years. Parole hearings (still ongoing), prison work, tirelessly advocating not just for Simon, but for all of us.
And now, he's written "Face to Face" - his journey through devastation toward something none of us expected: a meeting with one of the men responsible for Simon's death.
I must admit, my feelings about this book have evolved. What started as something difficult to face has become something I'm genuinely proud of.
The thought, care, and work Nick has poured into this story are extraordinary.
This isn't a story about forgiveness in the way most people understand it.
It's about something more profound: the pain of losing a twin, the long path toward acceptance, and how one person's courage to engage with the unthinkable can create possibilities for healing that extend far beyond our family.
What makes this book matter:
It challenges the myth that restorative justice is only for "minor" crimes.
It shows the true scope of trauma, how violent crime creates circles of harm that extend through families and communities in ways the system rarely acknowledges.
It demonstrates that healing isn't a destination, but a choice we continually make.
Most importantly, it demonstrates that even in the face of the worst, transformation is possible.
Nick doesn't offer easy answers. What he provides is more valuable: honest reflection on one of the most challenging journeys imaginable, and hope that emerges not despite the darkness, but through it.
I'm deeply proud of my brother, not just for writing this book, but for the decades of work that led to it.
Sometimes the most important stories are the hardest ones to tell.
And sometimes, sharing them reminds us all what courage looks like.
You can order Nick's Book at
https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/face-to-face-finding-justice-for-my-murdered-twin-brother-nick-dawson/7831503?ean=9781837732425
or
https://books.mailshop.co.uk/face-to-face-9781837732425/