Carol Offen and Betsy Crais know all too well the exhilaration, separately, of being a living donor and a 2-time organ recipient.

Carol’s adult, college-age son was in need of a kidney. Carol became his donor.

Betsy Crais’s evaluation for gastric problems in her thirties revealed polycystic kidney disease. When she was in her fifties she became the grateful recipient of a kidney donation from a living donor. Many years later, she required a 2nd kidney and, to everyone’s surprise, a liver. Again a living donor stepped up to donate a kidney but because she needed a liver at the same time, she needed a deceased donor. Not receiving them would have committed her to dialysis indefinitely while also risking death from liver failure.

These two expressive women knew each other since their daughters childhoods. They came together again after their own kidney experiences when they decided to collaborate on authoring a book that would lay bare the plight of recipients and the path of becoming a living donor.

"There is a 6-8 yr. wait for a deceased kidney donor and 90,000 people on the waiting list."

CONNECT WITH CAROL & BETSY:

Carol: carol.kidneydonorhelp@gmail.com; her website: www.kidneydonorhelp.com

Betsy: bcrais@med.unc.edu

Book: The Insider's Guide to Living Kidney Donation: Everything You Need to Know If You Give (or Get) the Greatest Gift

Barbara Ellison always wanted to have a TV show. Since waking up from her widow’s fog after her husband died when she was in her early 60’s, she has not stood still. She says, “I had no idea who I was, or what I was meant to do. The labels attached to me - mother, daughter, wife, those I understood but who was Barbara?” The Ultimate Game of Life coaching program gave her a lifeline and she has not stopped since. From traveling via RV to co-hosting a radio show and streaming live on Linked In, Barbara is a motivational speaker who opens her heart and shares her wisdom. Today she is the co-host of a TV show, coaches new retirees and knows exactly who she is.

" I love being in my 70’s. Age is just a number. "

Connect with Barbara:

Email: inspeakermode@gmail.com

LinkedIn Live: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-ellisonwellnessplayroom2024/

Time to Shine Happiness Show: https://www.youtube.com/live/ZdIhuyltJew?si=YMspxN8qrM6lapw4

People4People Community: www.people4peoplenow.com/referral/ZBkCwbmRlZJW?utm_source=referral_program

Jane Seskin, a licensed clinical social worker, is a prolific poet who, at age 80,

published a collection of 89 poems in the book OLDER WISER SHORTER: The

Truth and Humor of Life After 65. With humor and insight, Jane observes

how she is learning to acknowledge, accommodate, and accept the

vulnerabilities and new-found joys of aging. Early in her career as a therapist

for crime victims, Jane witnessed people’s resilience to survive. As a therapist

and writer, she advocates “talking to each other rather than being alone with

our scary thoughts.” For older women, one area of interest might be

discussions on health fantasies and fears. Jane is at work on a new book

about aging, focused on Taking Inventory: what’s past, dealing with the

present, and planning for the future. She also explores “what brings one

comfort when the sky is falling.”

Connect with Jane:

Instagram: @oldershorterwiser

Website:

https://www.olderwisershorter.com/

Jan Shaw King, 71, is a strong, resilient woman whose courage led her to create illustrative works that live on in all of our memories. Her first mentor was her grandmother who taught her to see colors and shadows and be brave enough to follow her path. You may remember Ranger Bob and How the Big Bad Wolf Saved Christmas. Children’s stories make up a major part of her portfolio. Jan’s company, Wyld Blue Entertainment, develops imaginative art for theme parks and major movie studios.

"My impressionistic paintings of sea turtles are dedicated to the awareness of these magnificent endangered species." - Jan Shaw King

What she is most proud of is beating an extremely rare form of cancer that only 3% survive. Her book, Life Lines, Verses for Reflection and Recovery is a treasured collection of inspirational verses of love and hope drawn from her personal healing journey as a 27-year cancer survivor.

More recently, Jan has nurtured her love of sea turtles, all 7 species, and uses her creativity and activism to create public awareness of the plight of these creatures due to climate change.

Connect with Jan Shaw King:

Email: Jan@WyldBlueEnt.com

WyldBlue Entertainment | WyldBlue Digital

www.WyldBlueEnt.com | www.WyldBlueDigital.com

WyldBlueProduction | www.WyldBlueProduction.com

WyldBlue Digital Press

WBDigitalPress@gmail.com

www.WyldBlueDigitalPress.com

jan@SeaTurtleRock.com

www.SeaTurtleRock.com

jan@JanShawKing.com

www.JanShawKing.com

LIFE LINES: Verses for Reflection and Recovery

LIFE LINES: Metamorphosis of Change: Guidelines for Recovery Workbook

B. Rosemary Grant, PhD, Research Scholar Emerita at Princeton

University, is world-renowned for 40 years of pioneering fieldwork, with her

husband, Peter, on two uninhabited islands in the Galapagos archipelago.

Their studies of Darwin’s finches in their natural environment have made

enormous contributions to evolutionary biology and ecology. In her memoir-

-One Step Sideways, Three Steps Forward--Rosemary chronicles her

amazing journey: teaching in the Finnish fashion; marrying and forming a

research partnership; earning her PhD at age 49; raising two young

daughters in the Galapagos; teaching and writing; receiving numerous

international awards; and advocating, world-wide, for advancing younger

women’s careers in science. Rosemary’s research and publications have

significant applications for broader areas, such as medicine and cultural

cooperation.

Quote Following your passion does not mean everything has to go in a

straight line; sideways steps can lead to huge leaps forward.

Connect with Rosemary

Email: rgrant@princeton.edu

One Step Sideways, Three Steps Forward: One Woman’s Path to Becoming a Biologist

40 Years of Evolution: Darwin's Finches on Daphne Major Island, New Edition

by B. Rosemary Grant and Peter R. Grant

Holly Zeinfeld, 79, has moved 22 times and lived in 8 states during her marriage to Steve. They were partners in life and in work until he died a little over a year ago. Holly cared for him in home hospice for 7 years with periodic help from her son.

Everywhere Holly goes, she finds meaningful work to do and makes lifelong friends. She calls herself the Director of Intangibles. No fitness center for pregnant women? She buys one and learns Lamaze to teach it and improve women’s lives. Employees disgruntled? Create a plan to build a cohesive and happy staff. School in Israel is not working for two of her grandsons? Bring them to Chicago to attend high school and live with her for several years.

Even today, living at Plymouth Place in La Grange Park IL, she continues to organize, participate in and build a strong community for herself and her neighbors. No seder? Run one for anyone who might come - 30 people showed up.

Thoughts become things. Say the good ones.

Resilience, tolerance, a deep caring and willingness to put herself out there for others - that is Holly Zeinfeld.

CONNECT TO HOLLY:

Email: nanuholly@yahoo.com

Suzanne Rowen, age 72, has been climbing mountains in the Pacific Northwest for the past 30 years. Leading self and others are cross-over skills between mountaineering and working in high stakes crisis communications on Wall Street, Suzanne’s earlier life on the East Coast. She finds climbing mountains to be “equally intense and marvelously expansive.” As a dedicated mountaineer, Suzanne peaked all the volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest and led numerous climbing expeditions. Now she prefers climbing solo and finds that “being in nature keeps us sane; you never outgrow it.” Suzanne mentors young women in mountaineering and is turning to fiction writing set in nature and mountains.

"The mountains meet you where you are; you can express who you are any time in life"

Connect with Suzanne

Email: suzannerowen@gmail.com

Wendy Cole, age 76, was 67 when she decided to live out in the world as the female

she was born to be. As a young person, Wendy was informed by ‘authorities’ that she

was a male with a psychological condition that was untreatable and uncurable; she was “a freak.” Wendy tells her story of living 45 years of repression while hiding her secret from the outside world. On the brink of suicide in 2014, Wendy learned her diagnosis had changed back in 2012. It is now treatable by therapy, hormones, and surgeries. And people are born transgender: “Gender is between the ears, not the legs.” In 2015, Wendy transitioned and began living fully as her authentic self. Currently, she is a transition mentor who guides individuals through significant life changes. She shares her story to “open minds and possibilities…to show others the beauty and possibilities of living authentically…It is never too late!”

"I was born female but assigned male based on my physical anatomy; now, I live freely and fully as a woman." - Wendy Cole

Connect with Wendy: She invites you to ask her anything!

Connection website: https://MeetWendyCole.com

Email: wendycole212@gmail.com

Website: https://wendycolegtm.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wcole212/@wcole212

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wendycolegtm

YouTube Channel:

https:www.youtube.com/@wendycole8326@wendycole8326

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-cole-gtm

Private Facebook group, Demystifying the Transgender Journey,

Open to anyone curious to learn more about being born transgender and living

with it from childhood.