Broke

A memoir about downward mobility, disability and the power of hope.

Sam always knew he was starting life on the back foot. When his parents split, Sam, his mother and his brother had to learn to survive in a world not built for single-parent families. Add to that Sam’s diagnosis with a form of dwarfism and the odds seemed stacked against them. As surgeons kept breaking and resetting Sam’s legs in attempts to keep him walking, disability and poverty collided, and it took all the family’s strength not to crumple in the impact.

With each change in circumstance – jobs gained and lost, relationships starting and ending, moving between city and country and from school to school – Sam tried to make sense of the adult decisions that kept shaking his world. Armed with hope, the support of friends and teachers, and the unwavering love of his mum, he began to claw his way to a brighter future.

In Broke, lawyer and disability advocate Sam Drummond weaves a poignant, stirring and deeply compassionate tale of life on the fringes. It’s a story of broken families, broken bodies and a broken system that constantly lets vulnerable Australians down.

About the Author

Sam lives in Melbourne’s north with his partner, their child and their dog, Bessie.

After moving out of home, he studied Arts and Law at Monash University. Sam began his career as a broadcaster and producer on community, commercial and public radio, before moving into politics and finally into law. He now specialises in discrimination law.

When he is not parenting, writing or working, he can be found swimming laps of Melbourne’s outdoor pools, tending to his native garden or discovering parts of the world he didn’t get to experience as a child.

While Sam and his family regularly visit his hometown in Central Victoria, they plan to live in the same Melbourne house for decades to come.