Sam was born in Annapolis and moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland with his family at age 12. He was diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia, a rare neurological disorder, at 15. Sam graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a BA in ’09, studied literature at Washington College as a graduate student, went on to get a master’s degree in English from University of Oregon in Eugene, and then moved back to the Eastern Shore in 2014 to write and teach. He lives with his family in Easton.