Sarah F. Erdreich

I was born in Birmingham, Alabama and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I earned my B.A. in Creative Writing & Literature from the University of Michigan in 1999, and my M.A. in Publishing from Emerson College in 2003.

I’ve also lived with chronic pain for as long as I can remember. I was born with malformed nerves in my face and head that caused chronic headaches and facial pain. In college, pain spontaneously developed in my right wrist. A decade later, my shoulders began to experience constant spasms for no diagnosable reason. I’ve had fifteen operations and too many evaluations, procedures, medications, and rounds of occupational therapy to count.

Perhaps befitting a writer with lifelong, debilitating chronic pain, my career path has been varied and non-linear. In no particular order, I’ve ghostwritten erotic romance novels; worked in bookstores; served as the managing editor for multiple academic journals; edited copy for a financial website; edited reviews of sex toys; worked on a boat; freelanced for the internal communications team of an international hospitality corporation; been a hotline supervisor for a non-profit that helps sexual assault survivors; spent several years working in various roles for a pro-choice organization; and currently work as a writer and editor for a non-profit focused on policy solutions to poverty.

When I’m not working, writing, or in doctor’s offices, I’m a voracious reader, world traveler, and – when my wrist cooperates – halfway decent amateur photographer. I live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C. with my husband, daughter, cat, and two dogs, drinking way too much Diet Coke and blasting 90s alternative rock way too loud.