From Military Service To Nursing And Authorship, A Journey Of Resilience And Innovation
Michael Stephen Dow discusses his journey from military service to nursing, his award-winning Nurse Florence® and Nurse Dorothea® series, and his mission to improve health literacy and mental well-being worldwide.
Michael Stephen Dow’s life is a testament to resilience, reinvention, and an unwavering commitment to service. From his early aspirations in medicine to his distinguished military career, and now as a registered nurse and acclaimed author, Dow’s journey is as inspiring as it is multifaceted. Married with three children, Dow’s path took a dramatic turn following the events of September 11, 2001, which led him to serve as an Electronic Warfare Officer in the US Air Force. After six deployments in the Global War on Terror, he transitioned to supporting Wounded Warriors before pursuing his passion for healthcare through nursing.
Dow’s dedication to education and health literacy is evident in his impressive academic achievements, including three master’s degrees, and his groundbreaking work as the founder of Dow Creative Enterprises, LLC. His award-winning Nurse Florence® series, designed to introduce children to medical concepts, has garnered widespread acclaim, while his Nurse Dorothea® series addresses mental health for teenagers and young adults, aiming to destigmatise these critical issues.
In this interview, Dow shares the inspiration behind his literary endeavours, the challenges of simplifying complex topics for young readers, and his vision for fostering health literacy and mental well-being. His insights offer a compelling glimpse into the mind of a man driven by a profound belief in the power of science, education, and compassion to shape a better future.
What inspired you to start the Nurse Florence® book series?
The Nurse Florence® series was born out of two events. The first was at the start of nursing school using my GI bill to start a third career. I was introduced to the great Florence Nightingale at the beginning and even read her Notes on Nursing book for fun. I read things about her life and was amazed that I had not known about her before 2019. I think she should be famous not only in the USA, but also around the world for her contributions to healthcare. The second event was the COVID epidemic. My kids had to transition to online learning, and I was concerned about their future science education. I thought, ‘What if I wrote a science book and my kids had to read it because dad wrote it.’ I wrote the first book about the basics of stopping bleeding and titled the book after Florence Nightingale (Nurse Florence, Help I’m Bleeding). I submitted the book for an award and received a silver Nautilus book award so I realized I may have found a niche in writing to young people. A year later, I started recruiting illustrators to help me with the project and we have now published over 150 titles, with new ones every 5-10 days, as of Feb 2025. We plan to publish 500 titles in the series.
How do you ensure that complex medical concepts are simplified for children in your books?
I try to limit one basic idea to each page and use larger font to help children not feel intimidated. I also only introduce kids to a handful of new medical words in every book so that they do not get overwhelmed.
What impact do you hope your books will have on young readers, especially in terms of health literacy?
Dow Creative Enterprises® hopes that the series will spark a global movement of health promotion and literacy. We are translating the series into multiple languages as well as creating special editions like Nurse Florence® for Beginning Readers and Nurse Florence® for the Visually Impaired. We plan for DCE Studios to produce a glorious movie about Florence Nightingale so that the world is introduced to her legacy and recognize that she rightly deserved to be the first woman to earn the Order of Merit. We hope that many children will consider a job in the STEM fields and the nursing shortage crisis will be alleviated.
How has your background as a nurse influenced the content and approach of your books?
Nurses are caring and thoughtful. They are innovative and rule followers. The story line is innovative in that an elementary school nurse teaches three fourth grade girls about how the body works or diseases during school lunch using her smartphone to show images of science from the internet. The books follow a standard protocol to create a brand and the characters in the story always show empathy and concern for others.
Can you share any memorable feedback or stories from children or educators who have used your books?
During the first year, we started receiving feedback from older adults saying they were learning new things with each book as they read them with their grandchildren or other young relatives. This gives me hope that the series may increase the health literacy level of all people instead of just current children.
What challenges did you face when writing for a younger audience, and how did you overcome them?
In the very early books, I struggled with not giving too much information on each page so that I could help keep children’s attention. I quickly decided on the strategy to try to limit each page to one main idea. This has helped provide concise information. As the British military saying goes, ‘Be Brief, Be Brilliant, Be Gone.’
What advice would you give to aspiring authors who want to write educational content for children?
Be innovative and trust that you can convey complex topics to young people. Brains are amazing and there is way to break apart large ideas into smaller connected ones so that children can understand complexity. Let us help the next generation get to a level we can only dream of and reach the highest of heights and maintain civilization at its full potential.
What is your next project?
The company has started to produce a mental health series for teenagers and young adults titled Nurse Dorothea® after the great Dorothea Dix who also lived in the 1800s. We are tackling tough topics like Grief, Social media usage, Bipolar Disorder as well as topics some may not instantly think as relating to mental health like Not Taking People and Things for Granted. We produce a new title in this series every 5 weeks. This series is meant to be done as a group activity especially with families since the readers are asked to participate in the discussions brought up in the book.
