Read my review of Emily Sayre Smith’s engaging new memoir Smartass: Memoir of a Mouthy Girl.

About Smartass: Memoir of a Mouthy Girl
by Emily Sayre Smith

Perfect for anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes of the ballet world, a rousing memoir of a brash young ballerina from a dysfunctional family who achieves her greatest dream only to realize—as she begins to find success—that she’s gay.

With a priest for a father and a magician for a mother, Emily Sayre Smith was always going to have an interesting life—for better and for worse. Here, she recounts what it was like coming of age in Texas and Arizona in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s in a decidedly dysfunctional family.

Smartass: Memoir of a Mouthy Girl
A Ballet of Midcentury Memories

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐    

Texas in the 1950’s is a very good place to be born

From the very first line of this memoir, the author hooks the reader with her fresh voice. and self deprecating sense of humor. Growing up is a chaotic dysfunctional home, she finds her home in the world of dance. This is a coming of age story, or rather, stories. In a series of stories smith writes about growing up in the late fifties sixties and seventies. At first I laughed at her recollections of life during those decades. Even when the chaos at home progressed, the frankly told stories are sprinkled humor. As a young adult she continued to study dance and then work as a dancer. Her behind the scenes descriptions of the dance world include a variety of adventures and experiences. Her memories about meeting dance royalty and actual royalty are a lot of fun. But she also writes about dealing with her realization that she was in love with a woman and her difficulties with being in love with drugs. Smith’s style captivated me. I could not put this book down. Not something I would usually say about nonfiction. This memoir will appeal to anyone wanting a backstage peek into performing arts and any child of the sixties. Reading this book was like listening to a good friend tell stories. Smith told plenty of stories about her early years, but she has plenty more stories to tell, and I can’t wait to read them.

Memoir
Setting – 1956-late 1970’s
Publisher ‏ : ‎ She Writes Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 7, 2025
Print length: ‏280 pages
Themes: Coming of Age, Ballet, LGBT, Self Acceptance
Trigger Warnings: Neglect, Domestic Abuse, Mental Illness, Eating Disorders

About Emily Sayre Smith

Emily Sayre Smith grew up in Texas and Arizona and subsequently spent two years in London and twenty years in NYC and LA. She started life as a classically trained ballet dancer, but after being forced out of that world due to drug addiction, she fell into owning a gym. She stayed in the gym space for fifteen years. After getting sober, she spent another twenty years working in high-end commercial tenant improvement construction before deciding to start writing again. Smartass is her first book. Emily currently lives in Palm Springs, CA.

Thank you Books Forward and She Writes Press for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.