Sarah lives in Seattle, her hometown to which she brought her husband and son after living east of the Mississippi for many years. By day she supports school leaders in implementing social and emotional learning programs. After coaching her son’s baseball team for several years, she now enjoys watching him from the stands.
Writing is Sarah’s great passion. She studied journalism and English literature in college before her curiosity about people and cultures drove her to the field of anthropology, in which she holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Through her focus on mortuary archaeology and paleopathology, Sarah has consulted as a forensic anthropologist and excavated archaeological sites in the United States and the Near East.
After being cursed by a village matriarch while excavating a Roman-era burial in Turkey, she decided to go to seminary. As an ordained rabbi, she has buried almost as many (mostly long-lived) people as she excavated in her archaeological work. Although she left the pulpit in 2012 after her son was born, she continues to officiate at life cycle events.
Through it all, Sarah’s great hope is to leave the world better than she found it. Writing fiction and nonfiction, and supporting others on their writing journeys, is a valuable part of her journey to fulfilling that hope. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and 2025 president of the Puget Sound Chapter.
Short Biography
Sarah Niebuhr Rubin is the author of short stories, poetry, and as yet unpublished mystery novels. She is a student of people and cultures holiding bachelor’s and master’s degrees in anthropology and rabbinic ordination. Much of her work draws on mystical and cultural Jewish traditions. Sarah lives in her native Seattle with her husband and son who came into her life during her years east of the Mississippi. In addition to her own writing, she loves to read across a variety of genres and to encourage others to engage with reading and the art of writing.
Listen to Sarah interviewed about mortuary archaeology by Wendy H. Jones (The Writing and Marketing Show).
Learn more about Sarah’s writing inspiration or about her reading interests.