Carol Offen
Carol Offen, a writer and editor who retired from RTI International, where she edited mostly health-related materials, is a kidney donor. In 2006 she donated to her son and has been passionate about encouraging living donation ever since. She is writing a book on the subject with a kidney recipient, The Greatest Gift: The Insider’s Guide to Living Kidney Donation, which is nearing completion. She has written about her experience in op-ed articles and online publications and has been interviewed on radio and TV. She also speaks on the subject to groups and to anyone who’ll listen.
She has been a publications manager and a book editor for both trade and university presses. She’s written features for magazines and newspapers, including Family Circle, Vogue, Esquire, and the International Herald Tribune, mostly when based in France (1976-1985). She also wrote and edited articles about country music and is the author of Country Music: The Poetry (Ballantine Books, 1977).
A transplanted New Yorker, Carol came to North Carolina by way of France. She and her husband, Neil, have called the state home since 1985. Their son, who was born in Paris, is a proud Chapel Hillian; their daughter was born here and now lives in Brooklyn.
Ten Things I Can’t Do Without
- Family and friends
- Chocolate
- New York-style pizza
- A good brie and a crusty baguette (sorry, but they go together)
- Wine to go with the brie—or anything else
- My passport (I love travel in general but have always been partial to far-off lands and cultures)
- Zumba
- Books, both fiction and nonfiction, and a comfy place to read
- Live music (most any kind depending on the setting and my mood)
- Theater (Broadway, off-Broadway, repertory, community theater—it’s all special)