David Stanley was born in Liverpool, England. At the age of six, he moved to Whyalla, South Australia. He trained as a nurse and midwife at the Whyalla and District Hospital, and has travelled and worked as a nurse and midwife in Africa, Singapore, Australia, and England. He now lives in Perth, and works as an associate professor teaching nursing at the University of Western Australia. He wrote the children's books When Emu's Dream and A Lovely Day for Knitting, and a general poetry book Rhymes with Reason. His academic books include Clinical Leadership: Innovation into Action and A Preceptor in My Pocket.