Sister Sandra Makowski was born Sandra Ann Makowski and grew up in Binghamton, New York. Six minutes after her birth her twin sister, Carole Jean was born. They shared the same bedroom, clothes, thoughts and ultimately the same vocation. They graduated from high school and entered the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur. They knew the Sisters from grade school, and witnessed the love and kindness that the Sisters had for one another - and they wanted that for themselves. Her sister, Carole, who took the name Sister Jean, was killed in a car accident in 1981 while on her way to serve in the missions. This tragedy changed Sandra's life and she learned the courage of survival and the kindness of friends. Sister Sandra's first book was published in 2014 and it is titled "The Side of Kindness." Sister Sandra received a Bachelor's degree in education and went on to receive a Masters degree in religious studies and licentiate in canon law, Along with the knowledge gained from her studies, she writes from her first hand experience as a woman working in the Catholic Church for 42 years as a teacher, canonist, judge, and presently Chancellor for the Diocese of Charleston, S.C.