Book by former deputy mayoress of Ripon raising money for two charities

Two local charities are to benefit from the sale of a book written by Jilly-Anne Powell, a former deputy mayoress of Ripon.

Proceeds from the sale of Journey to Identity will be donated to Dementia Forward in Ripon and the Harrogate branch of mental health charity Mind.

First-time author Ms Powell, whose husband Charlie was deputy mayor of Ripon between 2017 and 2021, told the Stray Ferret:

“The charities are very dear to my heart and I wanted to find a way of supporting them. Money is also being raised for both through the Mayor of Ripon’s charity appeal.”

Charlie and Jilly-Anne Powell

Former deputy mayor and mayoress of Ripon, Charlie and Jilly-Anne Powell

In Journey to Identity, Ms Powell tells her moving true-life story of growing up as an adopted child in a middle class family.

Born in 1944, she found out about her adoption at the age of eight from a neighbour’s child, but it wasn’t until a change in the law in the mid 1970s that she had the legal right to see her birth certificate.

With that came the beginning of a 45-year search for her birth mother and the discovery of other blood relations.

Ms Powell said:

“I was six weeks old when I was adopted and, when I found out about my adoption at such an early age, it had a profound impact on me.

“I carried a sense of not belonging and fear of rejection for many years, which brought struggles and anxieties, in spite of the fact that I had a privileged childhood with my adoptive parents, with schooling at private seminaries, followed by two years at London College of Fashion.”

The ‘journey’ saw her find her mother, whose maiden name of Cawthorne is used by Ms Powell in the publication of her book and will also be used in a planned sequel.

Journey to Identity is available at selected book shops, and via Amazon by clicking on this link. To find out more, click here to email Jilly.

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