Dawn O’Porter opens up about the profound impact of female friendships, how they’ve guided her through life’s toughest challenges, and her journey to embracing her true self. The bestselling author, whose latest novel Honeybee celebrates the strength of female bonds, shares insights into her life, career, and evolving outlook.

The Power of Female Friendships

For O’Porter, friendships have always been a lifeline. “I couldn’t get through a day without the support of my girlfriends,” she confesses. Her novel Honeybee captures this sentiment, telling the story of Flo and Renee, two lifelong friends who reconnect after navigating personal grief. Much like her characters, O’Porter treasures the camaraderie and care that her friendships provide, emphasizing how women support and uplift one another through life’s highs and lows.

Personal Reflections on Loss

O’Porter’s own experiences strongly mirror the themes in her books. Raised in Guernsey after her parents’ divorce, she lost her mother to breast cancer at the age of seven. This tragic event had a lasting impact on her, although, at the time, therapy wasn’t available in the way it is now. “There was no counseling back then, not in Guernsey in the Nineties,” she recalls.

As an adult, she’s dipped in and out of therapy but often found her friends to be her greatest support system. “Sometimes I wonder why I’m paying a therapist when I could just have a drink with my girlfriends and talk it through,” she admits. While acknowledging that she might benefit from more therapy, O’Porter feels that the hardships she’s faced have shaped her in a positive way.

Challenges with Long-Term Friendships

Growing up, O’Porter struggled to form lasting friendships, which she attributes to her early experiences of loss and change. “I always wanted that one best friend that would last through my whole childhood, but it never happened,” she says. As a child, her friendships were often short-lived, likely because of her constant search for excitement and new experiences.

A Wild and Ambitious Youth

Her early 20s were marked by ambition and a fierce drive to succeed. O’Porter, like her character Renee, was restless, bold, and eager for adventure. After drama school, she returned to Guernsey but was soon determined to move to London to pursue a career in television. “I was wild and always pushing boundaries,” she remembers. This relentless ambition was fueled by her mother’s death, which gave her a sense that time was precious, driving her to make the most of every moment.

A Shift from TV to Writing

Though she initially set her sights on a television career, O’Porter’s path shifted towards writing. After presenting a series of documentaries and moving to Los Angeles, where she met her husband Chris O’Dowd, her writing career began to flourish. Over time, her passion for storytelling through novels overtook her desire for a TV career.

Now, back in London with her husband and two sons, O’Porter feels she’s truly found her place. “I feel like I’ve stepped into my own shoes,” she says of her return to the UK. While she occasionally gets recognized by fans, she notes that her readers tend to be more reserved than TV audiences, offering kind words rather than seeking celebrity encounters.

Embracing a New Perspective

These days, O’Porter is happy focusing on her writing and family life. Having moved away from the pressures of television, she’s found greater creative freedom in her novels. “Writing gives me a real connection with my readers,” she says. “When you’re on TV, it’s all so big and out of your control, and everyone has to like you for the show to succeed. Now, I don’t really care if everybody likes me. I’m happy with who I am.”

With several more novels in the works, including another installment in the Honeybee series, O’Porter continues to draw from her personal experiences to create compelling, relatable stories.