Sarah M. Broom

About the Author

Sarah M. Broom is an acclaimed American author and journalist whose work delves deeply into the intersections of family, history, and place. Born and raised in New Orleans' resilient Lower Ninth Ward, Broom's writing captures the profound impacts of race, class, and environmental forces on everyday lives. Her debut book, The Yellow House: A Memoir (2019 National Book Award Winner), chronicles her family's multigenerational story tied to their ancestral home, destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, offering a poignant exploration of Black American experience and urban displacement. A former staff writer at The New Yorker, Broom's essays and reporting have appeared in publications like The New York Times Magazine and O, The Oprah Magazine, earning her fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and Radcliffe Institute. Her narrative voice blends lyrical prose with unflinching honesty, illuminating overlooked narratives of survival and identity.