“There are two things you need to know about me: 1) I love to travel. 2) I love to write.” — Sandra Carpenter, 59North

Sandra Carpenter (1964–2019) was a traveler and writer, yes, and also a mentor and an inspiration, a beloved wife, daughter, aunt, cousin, sister, niece, friend and colleague.

Sandra was born and raised in Cincinnati. She honed her journalistic instincts at the University of Cincinnati, where she was a force of style and accuracy at the student newspaper while she earned her degree in English literature and a writing certificate in journalism.

She started her publishing career as an editorial intern for F&W Publications’ Writer’s Digest, then joined the staff of Decorative Artist’s Workbook, helped launch Watercolor Artist, then took the helm at The Artist’s Magazine. She worked her way up the masthead to become editorial director of the art magazine group.

At F&W, Sandra earned a reputation as a champion of both the writers she worked with and the artists she featured in the magazine. Even as a young woman, she had the poise and maturity to comfortably engage with some of the country’s preeminent artists. She spoke at fine art conferences, visited painters in their studios and encouraged countless aspiring artists to pursue their passion.

Though she loved Cincinnati, Sandra wrote, “For as far back as I can remember, I dreamed of leaving my Midwestern roots behind and living abroad.” That opportunity arose in 2004 when she and her husband moved to Stockholm, Sweden.

Upon landing in Stockholm, Sandra dove into both Swedish culture and the expatriate community with enthusiasm. Early on, she challenged herself to embrace the differences she encountered in Sweden: the language, social customs, workplace culture, even the brief amount of daylight in the winter. She wrote, “I’ve developed a love/hate relationship with my adopted hometown. Basically, this means that I love it during the long days of almost total light in the summer and hate it in the long and dark winter.”

In Stockholm, Sandra loved writing about travel as the editor-in-chief of Scanorama, the in-flight magazine for SAS. (View a portfolio of Sandra’s travel writing for Scanorama.) She then took a role in corporate communications at Electrolux, where she collaborated with the company’s top executives as she nurtured and inspired colleagues from around the globe. She also had a successful freelance writing career: For publications including Scandinavian Traveler, she wrote about people who lived as digital nomads, and apps that help solo travelers connect with others. 

Sandra felt pride in being a citizen of the world, and she documented her life on the blog 59 North. She traveled extensively: to Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Norway, Germany, England, Scotland and Ireland, as well as Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Panama and lots more.

She was working to shape those experiences into a memoir she titled, Going Viking. To support her endeavor, she often gathered with other writers, and was part of a group that launched the Stockholm Writers Festival in 2017 and the First Pages Prize in 2018.

Traveling and writing opened worlds for Sandra—worlds that she instinctively encouraged others to explore and understand, in writing and in performance, too. Learn more about Sandra and her travels, read some of her work, and find her images on Instagram.