“...often funny and always humane, an unexpected voice...”
- The New York Times
Columnist | Author
Sarah Smiley is the author of four memoirs: DINNER WITH THE SMILEYS, GOT HERE AS SOON AS I COULD, I’M JUST SAYING, and GOING OVERBOARD. For 16 years, she penned a weekly syndicated newspaper column that reached more than 2 million readers.
Smiley is a recipient of the prestigious American Legion Public Spirit Award for her work with and for military families. Past recipients include Hillary Clinton. In 2014, Smiley was invited to the White House to be the Obamas’ guest at a State Dinner with the French President.
In 2012, while her husband, a Navy pilot, was deployed overseas for a year, Smiley invited one stranger each week to fill his empty seat at the dinner table and to talk to and mentor her boys. She wrote about their experiences in the popular book DINNER WITH THE SMILEYS.
As a military wife and mother to three sons—Ford, Owen and Lindell Smiley—Smiley has frequently written about motherhood and life in the military. She has also received national attention and praise for her columns about depression, politics, Little League, and life in Maine.
Sarah has been featured in:
Parade Magazine (Mother’s Day cover feature)
The New York Times Magazine (“Confessions of a Military Wife“)
GoodHousekeeping
Military Spouse Magazine (cover feature)
Newsweek, and many other publications.
Smiley has also been featured on the Today Show, Katie Couric, Nightline, CNN, CBS The Early Show, Fox News and MSNBC.
Her life rights were optioned by Kelsey Grammer in 2005.
Smiley is most proud of her sons, Ford, Owen, and Lindell Smiley, who grew up in front of readers in her columns and books. She and her husband, Dustin, who now flies for LifeFlight of Maine, have retired from the military and live in Maine.
