"I'm not scared of dying," she says, "In fact I've got so many things wrong with me that sometimes I wish it would come sooner rather than later."

Indeed, she has her funeral planned. Buried on Liquid Amber Lane at Woden Cemetery, a wake at Old Parliament House, accompanied by Helen Reddy's I am Woman and Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan

It's hard to imagine what Dawson has gone through since early 2011 when she was diagnosed with bowel cancer. In a few short months she had had surgery to remove the tumours, had chemotherapy, suffering painful side effects from this developing peripheral neuropathy in her hands and feet, and lost all but 4per cent of her sight overnight.

Through it all she's managed to maintain a certain grace and humour. She is formidable at times – her family and friends use words such as tenacious and determined, courageous and compassionate, to describe a woman who hasn't let any of her health worries get the better of her.

Over the years she's worked as a speech therapist, a teacher, an activist for gender equity, an advocate for the homeless and disadvantaged, raising three daughters with Peter, her husband of 51 years. She's used all her skills, gathered from all her roles over the years, to forge a new life.

Now, at 77, she's written a book, Where is my left eyebrow? Losing my sight overnight, the book she wishes she had the morning she woke up able to see only out of the corner of her right eye.

Dawson says in late 2010 she began to feel very, very tired. She had also been suffering from headaches, unlike headaches she had known before, headaches on the outside of her head, for months and when they remained after the cancer surgery she was still concerned.

A neurologist suspected temporal arteritis, where an inflammation of the arteries can cause blockages to vital organs such as the eye and brain, and Dawson was booked in for a biopsy.

But her surgeon was away, and she was worried, and admits now with hindsight, that it was a "bad decision", but she deferred the biopsy. She eventually had it and by the time the follow-up consultation came around a week later, the symptoms had eased but she was still on pain relief for her cancer surgery and so a diagnosis was put on hold.

But a few days later she began to suffer from double vision and was advised to go to emergency. A quick blood test revealed the markers for temporal arteritis, she was put on a large dose of steroids, the only treatment for the disease, and she spent the night in hospital.

When she woke up the next morning the headaches were gone but so was most of her vision.

"It's strange but I didn't feel shocked or alarmed when it had happened," she says, having had some warning through the initial diagnosis.

One of the first things she did think about was how was she going to deal with the challenges that being vision impaired would bring. And that's how Where is my left eyebrow? came about.

It's full of information, not only of Dawson's own experiences – there are anecdotes about her struggles to see her left eyebrow while putting on makeup, hence the title; to working out which side is the front of her underpants; to going out with one black shoe and one brown on – but also practical information, notes from her doctors, and others who are vision-impaired or are helping friends and family who are, that will help anyone adjusting to living a different way.

"You have to adjust slowly, get used to a different way of doing things," she says.

"The book shows there are many ways to do it.

"And I hope it shows good things can happen too, shows there's always a brighter side to life.

"One could easily be overcome but I didn't want that to be the message."

Indeed, it seems that Dawson can't be overcome, a word she uses a few times during our interview.

She continues to work as a volunteer for the Salvation Army, has set up three dental programs in the ACT for the disadvantaged, she's also been the driving force behind the Common Ground housing project for those on low-incomes and the chronically homeless. Common Ground is one of her proudest achievements and she's hoping to see it open in early 2015.

"When I woke up blind in the Canberra Hospital my first thoughts were about how I could continue my life and work," she writes in the book.

"Work is my life in many ways ... Work on these beloved projects kept me sane and in touch with the world."

She says working with the disadvantaged has given her a new perspective on life and that has helped her through her own ordeal.

"I've met people who were in far worse situations that I have ever been in and it's given me great joy to take some steps towards making a difference for people."

She says while it's no fun living each day in pain she remains in good spirits and that's the key.

"I have no wish to burden those around me with gloom, as far as I can help it," she says.

"We all have a certain time to live and I've had a wonderful life.

"I've been married for 51 years, I have three gorgeous daughters and wonderful grandchildren, and have had an interesting life, we've been overseas, I've met a lot of people, done a lot of things and I hope I've made a difference to people's lives."

The story in Where is my left eyebrow? is just another small way she'll do that.

Where is my left eyebrow? Losing my sight overnight, by Liz Dawson, is available in bookshops through Halstead Press for $28.95