MPW.74 / 2022 Sarah in the Center by Minh Connors
Photographer
Minh Connors Columbia, Mo.

Team Eppridge

Recipient of the Howard Chapnick Award
Story Summary

Sarah Robbins, 32, is the glue that keeps her family together. With five kids ranging from 9 months to 14 years old, she is constantly doing the best to keep order in their tightly-packed mobile home. She goes from changing diapers one moment, to dealing with a teenager being suspended from school the next. AJ, Sarah’s fiancé of eight years, recently returned to the workforce, which means that Sarah is shouldering more of the parental responsibilities at home. Sarah deals with trauma from her ex-partner who fathered her two teenage sons, while also suffering from postpartum depression following the birth of her youngest nine months ago. “I’ve lived a long life,” Sarah said. And with this, Sarah vows to protect her kids the best she can. “My kids are my life, I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for them.”