Sarah Smiley
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| Born: | October 22, 1976 |
|---|---|
| Occupation: | Columnist Author |
| Spouse: | Lt. Dustin Smiley, USN |
| Website: | http://www.SarahSmiley.com |
Sarah Smiley (born October 22, 1976) is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the author of Going Overboard: The Misadventures of a Military Wife.
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[edit] Biography
Born in San Diego, California, but raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Sarah Smiley has been a military dependent for 30 years. She is the daughter of Rear Admiral Lindell "Yank" Rutherford (USN, Ret.), a career Navy F-14 pilot. Sarah's husband, Lt. Dustin Smiley (USN), whom she met when her mother and Dustin's were in the same military "Wives Club" together the year Sarah was born, is a navy flight instructor and SH-60 helicopter pilot. Unlike many military brats, Sarah spent most of her upbringing in one place (Hampton Roads Virginia) where she grew used to being on and near aircraft carriers and Navy bases.
In 2003, Smiley began writing a column titled "On the Homefront" for the base newspaper (JaxAirNews) at NAS Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida. When Dustin was transferred to Pensacola, Florida later that same year, Sarah asked the The Pensacola News Journal to consider her for a regular, weekly column in their newspaper.
Smiley's first contribution to The Pensacola News Journal appeared on September 16, 2003 under the new name "Shore Duty". By the next month, Smiley had self-syndicated Shore Duty to other newspapers across the country, eventually reaching more than 11 publications and 2 million readers weekly.
In the fall of 2003, Smiley was criticized for posing for a picture while wearing her husband's Navy cover (hat). The infamous "Hat Photo" bothered some people who believe no one besides a service member should ever wear the uniform. Other people deemed the photo "nostalgic." Comparisons were drawn between Smileys photograph and old World War II photos featuring wives and girlfriends in their sailor's hat and/or uniform. The debate over Smiley's "Hat Photo" caused heated arguments on message boards across the country. The attention firmly placed Smiley on the map as one of the country's most recognizable military spouses.
In January 2004, Rick Broadhead, a literary agent in Canada, approached Smiley about writing a book. In September, reportedly while Smiley and her family were displaced by Hurricane Ivan, Broadhead sold Smiley's memoir, Going Overboard: The Misadventures of a Military Wife, to New American Library, a division of Penguin.
Going Overboard was released in hardback on November 1, 2005.
On November 6, 2005, The New York Times Magazine ran a six-page feature on Smiley ("Confessions of a Military Wife," by Alex Witchel). Smiley was eventually featured in Newsweek and on ABC's Nightline, CNN Sunday Morning, CBS The Early Show, Fox News and MSNBC.
Prior to the release of Going Overboard, Smiley's life rights were optioned by Kelsey Grammer's company, Grammnet, and Paramount Television. A half-hour sitcom based on her columns and book is now in development for CBS.
In 2006, Smiley parted ways with her first agent (Broadhead) and signed on with Jenny Bent at Trident Media Group. Smiley's film and dramatic rights are handled by Shari Smiley at CAA in Los Angeles. (Interestingly, Smiley claims to have no relation to Shari Smiley.)
Smiley and her book, which chronicles one of her husband's deployment during which Smiley had a "crush" on her gynecologist, have often been controversial. The taboo issues Smiley delves into with her writing has caused an apparent rift between two different camps in military-spouse culture: those who think a military wife has an obligation to put on a can-do attitude for her husband, and those who think military spouses are truly civilians and not subject to the military's expectations.
Smiley's husband and father have never publicly agreed or disagreed with Shore Duty. Both, however, claim to support Smiley's First Amendment right to express herself. Smiley's husband once said, "It's [Sarah's] column, so it's her opinions. I fully support her right to express them. But they don't always reflect mine. And that's OK."
Dustin and Sarah Smiley have two children (Ford, 5, and Owen, 3) whom Smiley frequently writes about. Her columns depicting her sons as Superman fanatics who wear red capes to the grocery store, have been some of her most popular. According to Shore Duty, Smiley is currently pregnant with the couple's third child, due January 2007.
Sarah Smiley has a B.S. in Education from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
[edit] Trivia
- Sarah has known her husband, Dustin Smiley, since she was a baby. They met when their mothers were both members of a military spouse club in 1976.
- By the time Sarah was 22 years old, her dad had been deployed a total of 11 years.
- Sarah was born while her dad was deployed on USS Franklin Roosevelt in 1976. She did not meet her dad until he returned when she was 7-months old. Sarah's family has video footage of father and daughter meeting for the first time, a clip that made its national debut on ABC's "Nightline".
- Sarah's older brother, Will Corr, is a well known artist on the east coast. Sarah's other brother, Van (Rutherford), is a Virginia Beach fireman.
[edit] Works
[edit] Non-fiction
- Going Overboard: The Misadventures of a Military Wife (2005)
[edit] Other Published Work
- Shore Duty, Syndicated Column
- Contributions to various Chicken Soup for the Soul books
- Column reprints in USAA Magazine and U.25
- Smiley writes a regular feature for Military Spouse Magazine and Military Money Magazine
