The Yellow House (book)

The Yellow House is a memoir by Sarah M. Broom, published in 2019 by Grove Press. The book chronicles Broom's family history in New Orleans East, focusing on the house her mother bought in 1961 and its eventual destruction during Hurricane Katrina. The Yellow House explores themes of family, memory, place, race, class, and the long-term effects of displacement and systemic inequality. It won the 2019 National Book Award for Nonfiction. Broom interweaves personal narrative with broader historical and sociological analysis of the area, revealing the complex relationship between the built environment and the lives of its inhabitants. The book delves into the history of New Orleans East, its development as a predominantly Black neighborhood, and the subsequent neglect and disinvestment that rendered it particularly vulnerable to the devastation of Katrina. The "yellow house" serves as a central symbol, representing both the family's hopes and dreams, and the precariousness of Black homeownership in America.