Meet Sarah

Sarah Deschamps is an author and memoirist who writes with candor, momentum, and emotional depth. Her work explores family, resilience, and the enduring impact of medical trauma, illuminating both the quiet weight of profound, long-term medical care and the extraordinary strength it takes to move forward when hope feels fragile.

Sarah Deschamps is a gifted storyteller whose memoirs weave raw emotion, cultural complexity, and resilient advocacy into beautifully written, deeply human narratives - balancing heartbreak with grace and moments of well-timed humor.

Her Memoirs

Sarah Deschamps is the author of two deeply personal memoirs that trace her family’s extraordinary journey through medical and emotional crisis.

In Journey to Japan: A Life-Saving Memoir, she recounts the harrowing experience of giving birth abroad to a daughter with complex medical needs and navigating an unfamiliar culture and healthcare system in a fight for her child’s survival.

Her second memoir, I Couldn’t Tell You: The True Story of a Mother and Daughter’s Journey to Overcome Their Mental Health Demons, continues the story after the family’s return to the United States, where repeated hospitalizations and life-saving interventions lead to mental health struggles that reshape their lives once again. Shifting from physical survival to emotional healing, the book explores trauma, identity, and the fragile, resilient bond between mother and daughter.

I couldn't tell you - Front cover
Journey to Japan - a life-saving memoir - Book Cover

Background & Career

  • Earned a master’s degree in education from Stanford University.
  • Worked for many years as a teacher and school administrator in both the United States and Tokyo, Japan.
  • Transitioned into nonprofit development, raising significant funds to advance mission-driven organizations.
  • Served as editor of a widely distributed medical newsletter focused on her daughter’s health condition.
  • Former member of the Board of Directors for River Arts & Books, a literary arts center in Roscoe, Montana.

Personal & Life Experience

  • Sarah lived in Tokyo, Japan for seven years, immersing her family in Japanese culture and daily life.
  • The experience of navigating unfamiliar social and medical systems profoundly shaped her perspective and narrative voice.
  • Her first memoir, Journey to Japan: A Life-Saving Memoir, grew out of her family’s years living abroad from 2000–2007.
  • After returning to the United States in 2007, she continued writing and advocating around healing family trauma related to long-term, complex medical conditions.
  • Her second memoir, I Couldn’t Tell You: The True Story of a Mother and Daughter’s Journey to Overcome Their Mental Health Demons, emerged from her family’s mental health journey while parenting a child with extensive medical needs.

Podcasts & Keynote Speaking

Sarah Deschamps is an engaging speaker who brings empathy and lived experience to every conversation. Drawing from her family’s journey through medical crisis, cultural transition, and long-term healing, she speaks openly about navigating critical medical situations, parenting, and the emotional complexity of resilience.

Keynote Topics:

  • From Medical Crisis to Emotional Healing
    Exploring how long-standing complex medical conditions impact family dynamics, identity, and recovery, and what it truly means to heal beyond the hospital.
  • Advocacy Abroad: Navigating Critical Care in a Foreign Country
    Lessons in courage, cultural humility, and fierce parental advocacy when facing life-threatening medical circumstances far from home.
  • The Hidden Toll of Complex Medical Conditions: Trauma, Resilience, and Renewal
    Understanding the lasting psychological effects of medical trauma and discovering strength, hope, and resilience in the aftermath.