Writer
In fiction and nonfiction, Sarah is drawn to eccentric characters, stories of social justice, and personal narratives with global implications.
Nonfiction
Interviews and Essays
Streets You Know by Heart: An Interview with Jimmy Buffett
Keys Weekly
On the south end of Duval Street, just before you hit the water, there used to be a restaurant flanked by red fringed umbrellas with a thatched tiki bar inside. “Logun’s Lobster House” the sign read, and if you wandered into the seaside lot on the right night in the early ’70s, you might have heard a long-haired young Jimmy Buffett play with his band.
What recent great white sightings in the Keys mean
Keys Weekly
April and May have been big months for big sharks in the Keys. In mid-April, a fisherman named Carter Bates posted a video online of a white shark devouring a chum bag, and it went viral. He estimated the shark was 16 feet long. Then, a couple weeks later, Knee Deep charter boat owners Barbie and Kevin Wilson spotted another great white, about six miles off Geiger Key. Barbie described it as “huge.”
Inheritance and Time Travel
Catapult
“I fear inheriting motherhood, a hot white Southern house.”
I do not like my hands. They are not “delicate” or “spindly” in the way lady hands are described in novels. They are large—“piano hands,” said music teachers; “man hands,” said boys—and there is blonde hair sprouting from my fingers. My girlfriends ask me to open pickle jars.
Going Green on the Deep Blue
Keys Weekly
Honest Eco’s Billy Litmer is making waves with his environmental mission: leading eco tours on an electric boat built from scratch, with a little help from an MIT-educated naval architect.
Too Close for Comfort
HuffPost
This week, New York City temperatures are topping out in the mid-90s, and finding water to cool off can become a blood sport. While many urbanites spend time plotting how to scam their way into Soho House or better befriend those with Hamptons digs, the city’s municipal pools may be fairly called the “unsung heroes” of the summer.
Is Key West Kokomo? Exclusive Interview with The Beach Boys’ Mike Love
Keys Weekly
The Beach Boys are the soundtrack to a perfect California summer—or creating the feeling of one at any time, in any place.
The Trouble with Hemingway and Women
Keys Weekly
I’ll warn you: I’m having a Papa’s Pilar Blonde at 1:53 p.m. on a work day in order to conjure the words necessary to write about Hemingway, here on the cusp of Hemingway Days. Worse yet, to delve into Hemingway’s relationship with women, in only 500 words. It’s only right to write Hemingway short, one might say (His most famous short story is perhaps “For sale: baby shoes, never worn”).
Cuban Ambassador’s Historic Visit to Key West
Keys Weekly
Jose Marti came to Key West in May of 1883, having established a relationship with the Cuban leaders of the community who were eager to support Cuba’s bid for independence.
Good Cop, Bad Cop
HuffPost
Imagine a young black soldier coming home from war. After a bloody tour abroad, he returns to America expecting, on some level, the same regard for his personhood that he received as a uniformed enlisted man overseas. In the ensuing weeks, he sees fellow black Americans abused by police and maligned by neighbors. He becomes disillusioned and angry.
Organizational Writing
Global collaborations help shift industry norms in Pakistan Better Work
Better Work
Mamun Chowdhury stood in the factory manager’s office, trying to delicately push the issue of why many women didn’t work at the garment factory in Punjab province, Pakistan.
What’s Next for Sri Lanka’s Apparel Industry
Better Work
Sri Lanka has been a locus of global enquiry in recent months, as the country has been in the throes of financial crisis, with crippling inflation and fuel shortages.
The Enemy Within: How Our Brains Can Undermine Our Decision Making
CEDEP
Dr. Philippe Delquié, CEDEP Leadership & Safety Culture faculty and professor of Decision Sciences at George Washington University, has taught and lectured about human and machine decision-making, risk-taking and avoidance around the world. In this conversation, he offers insight into how our brains can be our own worst enemy when making decisions that affect our safety.
Follow the Leader: Why Cultivating Your Leadership Shadow is Key
IOSH Magazine
Human beings are not only social creatures; we also share a well-documented tendency toward ‘unconscious mimicry’, the inclination to adopt the mannerisms, postures and behaviors of those around us.
The Case for Disconnecting: Rethinking Stress and the Culture of Connectivity
CEDEP
“Life was very stressful for our forefathers or foremothers in the savannah – it was often a question of life or death. That’s where our brain was built,” explains Dr. Theo Compernolle, a medical doctor and neuro-psychiatrist, who has been writing about stress’s impact on the brain for over 30 years.
I am a champion for migrant workers
International Labour Organization - an “ILO Voices” collaboration
When I left my home in Bangladesh for a job at a garment factory in Jordan six years ago, I had no idea what the future would hold. But I took an unexpected step that changed my life.
Books
One Percent Safer
Sarah edited and project managed One Percent Safer, a collection of over 140 global thought-leader’s contributions on making the world of work safer for everyone.
The Snowbird
If you are an agent or editor interested in reading the manuscript of THE SNOWBIRD, send Sarah a note at the Contact page.
Time and Tide
Sarah’s essay “Time and Tide” and other writing is featured in Wildsam’s 2023 Florida Keys Guide.
Charlene and the Fountain of Youth
Sarah’s short story “Charlene and the Fountain of Youth” was featured in the Momaya Short Story Review’s Outsiders Anthology in 2020.
Further Reading
“Paradise in a Peel”, Wildsam Magazine
“To Do or Not To Do: Deconstructing and Rebuilding the Role of Safety Managers”, CEDEP
“Broken Ground”, Bayou Magazine
“Swimming Against the Current”, Keys Woman
“Modern Love”, Keys Weekly
“Is it Right to Pay NFL Cheerleaders in Drool Alone?” HuffPost
“Incentivizing Goodwill: A Lesson From Africa for America”, HuffPost