Pittsburgh author Sharon Donovan, pictured left, was the guest speaker at BVRS' 2010 For Your Eyes Only Tailgate Party.

At the tender age of 6, Ms. Donovan was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and told by her doctor that she would be blind by the age of 25. Those words haunted the Avalon resident all of her life and when the doctor’s prediction came true, Ms. Donovan came to Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh where she learned how to manage her life independently with blindness. She was encourage with her newfound skills, but was still upset that she couldn’t paint. After a few years Sharon decided to redirect the artist in her and began taking writing classes.

Ms. Donovan has told her story in her nonfiction book, “Echo of a Raven.” Once an artist who painted on canvas, Ms. Donovan is now an author of several books of fiction.
On her website,www.sharonadonovan.com, Ms. Donovan talks about her transformation in a poem titled ‘Yesterday.’

It says, in part: “From the maze of mayhem and rubble a new dream resurrected renewing hope and inspiration for a brighter tomorrow. Today, motivated by new insight, instead of painting pictures on canvas, I paint my pictures with words.”

Ms. Donovan’s most recent work, “Mask of the Betrayer,” is a psychological thriller and is available at this link: http://www.whimsicalpublications.com/sharon_donovan/mask_of_the_betrayer.html