I'm Just Saying...

by Smiley, Sarah

• ISBN13: 9780979110313
• ISBN10: 0979110319
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-08-15
• Publisher: Ballinger Pub

Summary

Learn the military's phonetic alphabet if you wish, but I prefer to irritate my husband by making up my own instead...this is only slightly less efficient but much more Fabio-Underpants-Naked.- Sarah Smiley in I'm Just Saying...Ballinger Publishing proudly announces the release of I'm Just Saying..., a collection of essays by Sarah Smiley.For nearly five years, Sarah Smiley has been entertaining readers of her syndicated newspaper column "Shore Duty" with tales of being a military wife and mother of three young boys. Now Smiley's best work is gathered in a collection published by Ballinger Publishing.The 288-page paperback book includes forewords by Carol Leifer (former writer for "Saturday Night Live" and "Seinfeld," the basis for the character Elaine on "Seinfeld," and screenwriter for Paramount Television's proposed adaptation of Smiley's columns for a half-hour sitcom) and Ward Carroll (author, former Navy pilot, and current managing editor of Military.com).With commentary on everything from husbands who leave their lunch on top of their car to Amish Friendship Bread and why children are always bumping heads, Smiley's writing will "put a grin on your face," says Time Bete, Director of the Erma Bombeck Writer's Workshop. "Even those with no connection to the military will relate," writes Bernie Grimm, Fox News Analyst.

Author Biography

About Sarah Smiley Navy wife Sarah Smiley is the author of ôShore Duty,ö a syndicated newspaper column that reaches more than two million readers weekly, and the memoir Going Overboard: The Misadventures of a Military Wife (Penguin/New American Library, 2005). Sarah has been featured in The New York Times Magazine (ôConfessions of a Military Wife,ö November 6, 2005) and Newsweek, and on ABC's ôNightline,ö CNN ôAmerican Morning,ö CNN ôSunday Morning,ö CBS ôThe Early Show,ö Fox News ôStudio B,ö and MSNBC ôLive.ö Film and dramatic rights are represented by Creative Artist Agency in Los Angeles, Calif. Sarah's literary work is represented by Jenny Bent at Trident Media Group in New York. Sarah has been a Navy dependent for more than 31 years.She is the daughter of Lindell Rutherford, a career Navy F-14 pilot, and spent most of her upbringing amid the aircraft carriers and Navy bases in Virginia Beach, Va. Sarah Smiley has a B.S. in Education from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. She is the mother of three young boysùFord (7), Owen (5), and baby Lindell (1)ùand the wife of a Navy pilot, Lt. Cmdr. Dustin Smiley.Sarah's column, "Shore Duty" is syndicated in the following newspapers and magazines: Pensacola Magazine, Pensacola, FL JaxAirNews, Jacksonville, FL Times Record, Brunswick, ME Soundings, Virginia Beach, VA The Herald, Sarasota/Bradenton, FL Colorado Springs Military Newspaper, Colorado Springs, CO Fort Leonard Wood Patriot, Missouri Military Spouse Magazine, National Connecting at Home Magazine, National Military Money Magazine, National Sarah's work has also appeared in: USAA Magazine Chicken Soup for the Military Wife's Soul Chicken Soup for the Mother of Preschooler's Soul Chicken Soup for the Shopper's Soul U.25, USAA's magazine for young adults Mothers Know Best, by Small Potatoes Press Chicken Soup for the Father and Son's Soul Chicken Soup for the Soul: A Tribute to Moms Read more about Sarah at www.sarahsmiley.com.Praise For Sarah's Columns and I'm Just Saying...ô ... funny and always humane ... an unexpected voice à ö ~The New York Times ôA witty observer of her life and times!ö ~The Times-Record, Brunswick, Maine ôIt is that wry take on the life of a military spouse ... one that questions the rules and regulations of the shadow military she embodies, that Smiley does best.ö ~The New York Times ôSarah Smiley's columns are funny, smart and real. If military-spouse humor writers had ranks, she would be, at minimum, a general.ö ~Dave Barry, author ôSarah Smiley's columns read like amusing dispatches from your favorite friend, rather than two-dimensional words on a page. Smiley has the knack of turning the ordinary and not-so-ordinary travails of a modern-day military wife into an absorbing narrative. There's nothing stoic about this Navy wife who writes with the kind of three-beer honesty that seems both amusing and brave at the same time.ö ~Frank Cerabino, columnist, The Palm Beach Post ôWitty, whimsical and wise, [ I'm Just Saying...] will put a grin on your face.ö ~Tim Bete, Director of the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, author of Guide To Pirate Parenting ôSarah Smiley captures military family life like no otherùwith endearing and descriptive writing that brings both laughs and tears.ö ~The Bradenton Herald ôIn Sarah Smiley's wonderfully wacky world, Santa speaks Pig Latin, fat clothes are never discarded, and Amish Friendship bread becomes frightfully unfriendly.I'm Just Saying ...hilariously documents the misadventures of a military family.Each column is a carefully polished gem.ö ~Karin Gillespie, author of Dollar Daze ôInsightful. Patriotic. Guaranteed to tickle your funny bone. This delightful read will remind you of the universal (and hilarious) lessons of motherhood and give you a renewed appreciation for military families. With insight and humor, Sarah Smiley helps us understand the sacrifices of military families and reminds us how essential it is to be able to laugh at ourselves. This collection of stories shares the myriad of blessings universal to motherhood.ö ~Celeste Palermo, author The Coffee Mom's Devotional and From the Red Tees ôSarah Smiley's frank writing offers an atypical perspective of military life ...even those completely unfamiliar with life as a military spouse will relate and appreciate her witty accounts of being a wife and raising three children.ö ~Bernie Grimm, Fox News legal analyst