Adopter and Community Care columnist Sally Donovan wins prestigious award

Ever since Sally Donovan started writing for Community Care we knew we were onto something special. Her candid and moving columns about adoptive family life – Sally adopted two children from the care system 10 years ago – chart her journey through adoption, via social work, child mental health services, therapeutic parenting and everything in between. Her columns beautifully capture what it means to love and parent abused children, without a shred of self-pity. And she doesn’t hold back on the political stuff either.

Now, rounding off a brilliant year for Sally that has seen her become a published author (she is currently working on her second book), her writing has received another huge endorsement. Last night, I watched proudly as Sally took to the stage – in front of some of the finest, and most famous, editors in the magazine industry – to pick up her award for BSME Columnist of the Year. Sally was nominated in the business media category, and her fellow winner in the consumer media category was none other than Caitlin Moran. As you do.

The judges praised Sally’s powerful and beautifully written columns on a moving, fascinating subject. Which will obviously come as no surprise to regular readers of Community Care and Sally’s own blog about adoptive parenting. Her latest posting, ‘What it feels like to be adopted’, is a must-read, written by her son and named blog of the week by Mumsnet. It seems Sally isn’t the only powerful writer in the family.

Well done Sally! It’s a massive, and totally deserved, accolade. And here’s just a small selection of Sally’s award-winning writing:

‘Like a computer virus, low self-esteem spreads silently, corrupting and wreaking havoc’

Why post-adoption support is like the holy grail

After Adoption – A Tale of Two Children

Read an interview with Sally, published earlier this year.

And check out Sally’s reaction to her award.