Hello! I am an award-winning author and translator whose work has been praised for its honesty, vulnerability, and the way it challenges our ideas about race and identity. As a writer and coach I find inspiration in bringing forgotten stories to light.
Sarah Valentine, PhD
Decoding the Devil available now!
A #1 Amazon new release and LA Times Top 10 June Read
Book launch — July 12, 2026 @ City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, PA
Click here for more details.
“Astonishing.”
—The Los Angeles Times
“Shatters the mythology of American intelligence. With relentless research and electric storytelling, Sarah Valentine restores the erased Black cryptologists.”
―Nathalia Holt, Bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls
Decoding the Devil tells the shocking true story of the women working in segregated codebreaking units in the Army’s intelligence agencies during World War II and the Cold War.
Winner:
2024 National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Award
2025 National Archives Foundation Commended Scholar of Women’s History Award
Available now from HarperCollins.
Decoding the Devil
“A masterful explication on the nature of self and identity.”
―NPR Review
A #1 Amazon bestseller and best-of pick from BookRiot, PureWow, Bustle, The Millions and more.
A Stunning and provocative coming-of-age story.
Valentine grew up believing that she was white like the rest of her family, but at 27, she discovered her family’s secret.
Growing up in Pittsburgh, PA, Valentine describes an ordinary childhood in a loving family of Italian and Irish descent.