Dr. A.L. Smith read her first full-length novel (The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner) in the third grade and it spawned her passion for reading. Authors who have influenced her the most include Sister Souljah, Iceberg Slim (Robert Beck), Donald Goines, Nathan McCall, Zora Neal Hurston, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, Claud Brown, Cynthia Middlebrooks Harris, E. Lynn Harris and Treasure Blue to name a few. According to Dr. Smith, the hallmark of a great story is the resounding presence of a character that transcends the final pages of the book.
Dr. Smith is a native of Frierson, Louisiana, a small town in northeast Louisiana with a population of 148 residents. She attended Grambling State University on a basketball scholarship and later joined the school’s Army ROTC program. Upon graduation in 1996, she became the university’s first Army ROTC cadet to receive a commission in the Army Nurse Corps. She received a Masters Degree in Nurse Anesthesia in 2001 and a Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice in 2012 from Texas Wesleyan University. Her doctoral research project was selected for inclusion in the 2016 edition of the Journal of Gastroenterology Nursing. In 2010, she participated in humanitarian relief efforts during the devastating earthquake in Haiti and provided anesthesia services to a countless number of victims, many of whom were children. This experience would have a profound impact on her views concerning socioeconomic disparities here in the U.S. and countries abroad. She’s a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and takes seriously the organization’s motto “Service to all Mankind”. Her personal motto is “In as much as you’ve done to the least of the...” For more information about Dr. Smith visit http://www.alsmithbooks.com/ To get your copy of Behind Closed Doors 2: Dana's Story click here |
