Uprooted: A Memoir of Belonging and Becoming
- Regal House Press
- July 28, 2026
- Available now for pre-order
Turning pain into purpose.
My Reckoning
Turning Pain Into Purpose
After the 2016 election, I started a regenerative farm in the Appalachian Mountains as an act of resistance against environmental collapse. But when my engagement unraveled under the weight of undiagnosed bipolar II, childhood trauma, and unresolved adoption grief, the solitude meant to fuel my activism became a crucible for everything I’d spent years outrunning.
A DNA test revealing biological siblings I didn’t know I had sent me deep into the mountain hollers chasing family secrets and long-lost kin. Who I found was Georgina Mae — my birth mother — whose struggles with addiction, survival, and domestic and sexual violence echoed my own. As I pieced together her past, I had to confront a hard truth: some reunions carry a cost, and some answers stay buried with those no longer here to give them.
Interwoven with myth and memory, Uprooted — shortlisted for the Bridport Prize in memoir — is a lyrical meditation on family, identity, climate justice, and the strength it takes to grow something new from broken ground.
If my story resonates with you, if you’ve spent years running from your own difficult truths, or if you’re ready to excavate what’s been buried in your bones, I can walk you through a writing process where the goal is not necessarily publication, but coherence. Wholeness. A story you can stand to live inside.
I offer private therapeutic writing consultations for individuals and narrative medicine programming for organizations and medical units navigating grief, trauma, the messy work of becoming, compassion-fatigue, burnout, and the unique challenges of working in the healing professions.
Turning Pain Into Purpose
After the 2016 election, I started a regenerative farm in the Appalachian Mountains as an act of resistance against environmental collapse. But when my engagement unraveled under the weight of undiagnosed bipolar II, childhood trauma, and unresolved adoption grief, the solitude meant to fuel my activism became a crucible for everything I’d spent years outrunning.
A DNA test revealing biological siblings I didn’t know I had sent me deep into the mountain hollers chasing family secrets and long-lost kin. Who I found was Georgina Mae — my birth mother — whose struggles with addiction, survival, and domestic and sexual violence echoed my own. As I pieced together her past, I had to confront a hard truth: some reunions carry a cost, and some answers stay buried with those no longer here to give them.
Interwoven with myth and memory, Uprooted — shortlisted for the Bridport Prize in memoir — is a lyrical meditation on family, identity, climate justice, and the strength it takes to grow something new from broken ground.
Media, Events & Book Orders
Bring the conversation into your community.
Sarah is available for podcast conversations, bookstore readings, author events, book clubs, press inquiries, and literary programming connected to writing, narrative medicine, expressive writing, creativity, healing, grief, caregiving, and the emotional realities of healthcare work.
Podcast Availability
Podcast Conversations That Matter
Sarah is available for podcast conversations, interviews, and recorded discussions related to writing, narrative medicine, expressive writing, creativity, healing, grief, caregiving, and the emotional realities of healthcare work.
Podcast hosts, producers, and media teams are welcome to reach out for interviews, guest appearances, or collaborative conversations connected to Sarah’s work, publications, teaching, and public speaking.
Bookstore Readings & Events
Bring the Conversation to Your Community
Sarah is available for bookstore readings, author talks, book signings, and community events connected to her publication and broader work in expressive writing and narrative medicine.
Events may include live readings, moderated conversations, audience Q&A, writing-based discussions, and special programming for bookstores, literary communities, healthcare organizations, and educational spaces.
Pre-Order
Pre-order Uprooted at your favorite bookseller and please consider ordering through an independent bookstore or Bookshop.org, which supports the independent bookselling community.
For Book Clubs & Reading Groups
Uprooted is available for book club orders through Regal House Publishing, and Sarah is available for virtual book club visits. Please use the contact form to inquire about scheduling.
For Visiting Writer Programs & Literary Events
Sarah is available for Visiting Writer engagements, literary festival appearances, and author events across the Appalachian region and beyond. See the Speaking page for formats and booking information, or email directly from the contact page.
Press & Media
For review copies, author interviews, and press inquiries related to Uprooted, please contact Sarah through the media inquiry form on the Contact page.
Writing & Reading Community
Join Our Inner Circle
The Uprooted Inner Circle: Pre-Launch Book Promotion Club
Join a small community of early readers and champions helping bring Uprooted into the world. As a member, you'll get exclusive access to the book before anyone else and play a vital role in building buzz before publication.
What you'll receive
- A free digital ARC before the publication date
- Invitations to virtual Q&As and intimate conversations about the book's themes
- Deep discounts on virtual monthly book club and writing / NM workshops
- Book swag
What you'll help with
- Posting an honest review on Amazon, Goodreads, Bookshop.org during launch week
- Sharing your thoughts on social media with your community
- Spreading word-of-mouth to friends, colleagues, and local bookstores
- Serving as a point of contact for social media or in-person opportunities
No marketing experience necessary — just enthusiasm for memoir, writing, healing, or the themes of adoption & reunion, sustainable farming, climate change, and mental health. This is a free community built on reciprocity: you help launch the book and I'll offer you early access, community, occasional writing workshops, and an abundance of gratitude.
Every book needs believers before it has readers.
Join the Inner Circle for early access to Uprooted, behind-the-scenes content, and a chance to help generate buzz and create community around the launch of a memoir about losing and finding yourself, your purpose, and your people.
