A quick and easy review of the Grove Press memoir set in New Orleans East
The Yellow House by Sarah M Broom rounds out the Forever Young Autobiographies book review series for the year.
And what a way to finish!
This bestselling memoir was put out in 2019 by Grove Press and tells the story of many people, many families but one house – the Yellow House.
Indeed Broom’s family home in New Orleans East became the centrepoint of many worlds from the 1960s to its drawn-out demise after Hurricane Katrina.
Most notably the story won the National Book Awards 2019 for Nonfiction, was a New York Times Best Seller and named one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2019.
So let’s find out more about Broom, The Yellow House and what we can takeaway as life-story writers …
What is the book about?
Sarah M Broom splits her 384-page book into four parts that begins with stories about her great-grandparents, grandparents and parents growing up in New Orleans.
Next we learn that she is born shortly before her father dies in 1980, leaving behind her mother and 12 children.
Then as Broom grows up, surrounded by the roughness of the East, the house begins its slow decline.
However, in 2005 Hurricane Katrina hits the Yellow House and its family hard.
And it is a long process of many years to re-establish and move on.
Related article – Best books of 2019: Must-read books about life stories to enjoy this summer
What’s interesting about Sarah M Broom’s book?
Discover New Orleans East
There are many interesting parts to The Yellow House.
Firstly we learn in-depth about New Orleans East, the little publicised part of the city unknown by tourists.
Indeed Sarah M Broom talks us through its streets, gangs, high crime rate, dangerous roads and watery underbelly.
Force of Katrina
A second enthralling part is her family’s firsthand accounts of Hurricane Katrina, especially by her brother Carl.
For example, Carl wakes to rising water and cuts through the roof with an axe to escape.
For days he waits for help on the roof with his dogs and talks to neigbours similarly perched on their roofs above putrid water.
“See when daybreak come, that water it start coming again, it start coming all the way now. I got to start cutting now.”
Focus on Burundi
Another interesting surprise of the book was Broom’s trip to Burundi, East Africa, after the hurricane.
She takes a job at a radio station with a mission to report about the country’s corruption and human rights abuses.
And therefore we learn much about this landlocked country, its people and their struggle for peace.
Related article – Book review: Pulitzer Prize winner The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. Stewart
What can we learn from Sarah M Broom?
Story of persistence
One of the key things we can learn from The Yellow House is persistence.
For example, Sarah M Broom was signed to write the book in 2005 and published it in 2019.
Indeed much of the story was unfolding as she wrote it!
However, this fact highlights that stories can take a good while to wrangle into a final draft.
And that is total OK!
“I started making scratches and scribbles toward this book shortly after leaving New Orleans for college, more than two decades ago.”
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Building structure
A second takeaway from Broom’s work is how she lays out the book in four movements.
Certainly this must have helped her unpick a complex story and tackle its core parts.
For instance, these range from family stories, Broom’s childhood memories, firsthand accounts of the hurricane, and journalistic investigations.
But her skill has been making these parts work and sing together as one.
Related article – Story outline: How to make an outline and have topics to write about
Know your reader
A final point we can learn from the book is to always keep your reader in mind.
Indeed Broom does this well by crafting an engaging story.
However, she also directly addresses the reader a number of times.
And these subtle references reinforce that she is telling this story intimately to you.
Related article – Writing tips: The ultimate guide of life-story tips for new writers
Final say: The Yellow House by Sarah M Broom
The Yellow House is possibly like nothing you have read before.
It tackles dramatic topics like disaster, death, poverty and crime.
But there are also quieter, heartfelt topics such as family, friendship, identity and belonging.
This is a revealing book that will take you on a journey through the centuries of New Orleans with fresh eyes.
Most importantly, however, it will show you how to write with care and love about the people and places of your heart.
“When I look at you all, I don’t really see the house, but I see what happened from the house. And so in that way, the house can’t die.” – Sarah M Broom’s mother Ivory Mae Soule Broom.
Happy writing and happy reading!
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This article first appeared on the website Forever Young Autobiographies.com.