Callie J. Smith

author

Tag: ancestors

What We Are To Each Other Sticks: On Kohelette and the Power of Memories

Mar 1, 2026

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by

Callie J. Smith

in grief and memory, spirituality and creativity

What we are to each other doesn’t go away. Our people don’t go away. And that changes everything.
On Truth in Fiction and “Wicherek Way: A Short Story”

Feb 7, 2026

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by

Callie J. Smith

in hope and imagination, short fiction

“For better or for worse, she’d never given any hint of discomfort when her dreams had to face reality.” – from “Wicherek Way,” a short story from the world of the forthcoming novel Kohelette I wouldn’t say my fiction is autobiographical, but I do find myself drawing on bits of real-life experience to ground my…
When the New Becomes Hard: On Kohelette and Piecing Together A Life After Loss

Jan 3, 2026

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by

Callie J. Smith

in grief and memory, hope and imagination

“She wants to do something new with her life, but she may need the dead to help her do it.” – Kohelette: A Novel How do you feel about doing new things? Energized and excited? Uneasy? Overwhelmed? I’ve been paying extra attention to how I answer that question as we’ve entered the new year. To be…
Pausing with Whatever: Practices of a Monk in the World

Sep 6, 2023

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by

Callie J. Smith

in grief and memory

The titles on my bookshelves don’t fully reveal what those shelves or their books actually hold. Because I have the habit of tucking notes into my books for safekeeping, I never quite know what will fall out when I open a book. Not a great organizational method for my correspondence, this tucking away of notes…
Our Imperfect Saints

Oct 10, 2022

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by

Callie J. Smith

in grief and memory, hope and imagination

Autumn makes me think of my grandmother’s pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies. She’d cover them in orange buttercream frosting and then decorate the tops with Jack-o’-lantern faces using a rich cocoa icing. I loved those cookies. My grandmother sold them for 35 cents apiece at the local pumpkin festival, and they sold out every year. My grandmother…
Anything But Gone: On An Advent with Grief

Dec 9, 2021

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by

Callie J. Smith

in grief and memory

“Who was it?” I asked. “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t know if I ever knew.” A ceramic Christmas tree sat on my bookshelf. I’d just switched it on, and its multi-colored lights glowed. That little tree had been part of Christmastime as far back into my childhood as I could remember. It wasn’t…

About the author

Callie J. Smith writes about women who, like her, are finding themselves. Her stories and essays explore everyday things like hope, creativity, and grief.