Conversations with Christie Havey Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christie Havey Smith.

Hi Christie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory. 
My career began in the film business. I moved from Chicago to Los Angeles at age twenty-three and started out as a production assistant. I worked my way onto a desk at Focus Features, then Castle Rock and Dreamworks. I read screenplays by day, and by night, I wrote my own. I’ve always been a lover of stories—of books and films, and theater. But what I learned about myself those years is that I’m also deeply interested in the stories of the people I encounter each day. The hope in the eyes of one person and the pain in the eyes of another. Eventually, this inspired me to go back to school. 

I’ve been a spiritual director now for 15 years, sitting with others and listening to their stories. By exploring the narratives that we carry—cultural, intergenerational, experiential—we can look for the golden threads that lead to clarity, sense of direction, or stronger sense of self. Often, the answers we are looking for are hidden in our own stories. 

A few years ago, I opened a retreat space in my neighborhood of Los Angeles called The Greenhouse for growing well. There, we gather in a circle to tell our sacred stories, to breathe and release through yoga and meditation, and to nurture our community. 

Years of exploring stories and holding space for healing have fueled my most recent project: a novel called Threads of Us. This is a tale of love’s power over loss, and it could not have been born of me at any other age or time. Its release is set for October 8, 2024. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has had twists and turns and certainly some bumps. As a woman, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a writer, and a lover of humanity, I have felt all the things. But I believe the struggles have helped shape me into a better listener, a better storyteller, and a more mindful observer of the world. Like a stone in a rock tumbler, our work on this planet can become more lovely once we’ve been tossed around a bit. We see with more wisdom and compassion, and we speak with more honesty. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in fiction and narrative non-fiction literature. Years of listening to stories and helping others heal their way forward have fueled my writing and inspired stories of perseverance and discovery. 

My first book, entitled From Three Feet Off the Ground, is the story of the humbling, life-changing discoveries I made when I set out to see the world from my young children’s point of view. 

My novel, Thread of Us, is the story of Gracie Wilder, a young woman whose father unexpectedly dies, leaving behind a curious gift with ties to a myth told to her as a young girl. In search of answers, Gracie travels back to her childhood home in Old Montreal, where she confronts family secrets and must find a way forward by healing her history backward. My inspiration for this book began with the question: What happens to the girl who swallows a story that says she is unlovable or the man who carries the myth that he is worthless? I wanted to explore how we can make meaning from our sorrow and heal the wounds that we carry. Threads of Us is both playful and powerful, and I can’t wait to share it. 

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
The creative life is fickle. There are days when you may feel like you’re killing it and days when you have no idea if what you’re doing matters. But continue to show up for yourself, revel in the process, and try to release the need to know what will come of it. A dancer doesn’t dance just for the recital, and painters don’t paint just to have something to hang on the wall. Likewise, writers don’t write stories simply because they want a book to show for it. We do it because our soul demands it and delights in it. So, delight in what you do! Trust that all good things move around and find their way into the world. And listen to stories everywhere you go. They will inspire the one ready to be born of you. 

Contact Info:

• Website: christiehaveysmith.com
• Instagram: @christiehaveysmithofficial

Image Credits
Victoria O’Leary