Mallory Smith
{{Short description|American author and cystic fibrosis advocate}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox writer
| image =
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| name = Mallory Smith
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| birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1992|10|12}}
| birth_place = Los Angeles
| alma_mater = Stanford University
| death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2017|11|15|1992|10|12}}
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| occupation = Author
| nationality = American
| period =
| genre = Memoirs
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| notableworks = Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life{{cite journal|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-quarterly-of-healthcare-ethics/article/abs/value-of-the-patient-voice-a-review-of-salt-in-my-soul-by-mallory-smith/59884B60D964671F5E32FEFC7AB14F12 |doi=10.1017/S0963180122000433 |title=The Value of the Patient Voice: A Review of Salt in My Soul by Mallory Smith |year=2022 |last1=LaBonte |first1=Michelle |journal=Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=443–446 |pmid=36366957 |s2cid=253457334 }} {{cite web|title=Michelle LaBonte|website=Department of the History of Science, Harvard University|url=https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/michelle-labonte}}
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Mallory Beatrice Smith (October 12, 1992 – November 15, 2017) was an author and cystic fibrosis advocate.
Early life
Smith was born to Mark Smith and Diane Shader Smith on October 12, 1992, and diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a "progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time", at age 3.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cff.org/What-is-CF/About-Cystic-Fibrosis/|title=About Cystic Fibrosis|last1=Bethesda|first1=Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 4550 Montgomery Ave Suite 1100 N.|last2=Md 20814301-951-4422 800-344-4823|website=www.cff.org|language=en|access-date=2020-02-29}} The disease cripples by inhibiting oxygen and nutrient absorption required for growth and energy with treatment regimens of more than 60 pills per day and waking up repeatedly for antibiotic IV treatments and lung exercises, yet Smith was determined to live well.{{cite news |last1=Harward |first1=Jason |title=Facing mortality: a young woman's lifelong battle with illness |url=https://highschool.latimes.com/beverly-hills-high-school/facing-mortality-a-young-womans-lifelong-battle-with-illness/ |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |agency=Los Angeles Times |publisher=HS Insider Los Angeles Times |date=December 13, 2017}} She maintained a 4.3 grade point average,{{cite web |title=In the Spotlight: Mallory Smith |url=https://www.cff.org/News/News-Archive/2013/In-the-Spotlight--Mallory-Smith/ |website=www.cff.org |publisher=Cystic Fibrosis Foundation |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327085611/https://www.cff.org/News/News-Archive/2013/In-the-Spotlight--Mallory-Smith/ |url-status=dead }} was captain of three different team sports, and was elected prom queen.
By age 15, bacteria had colonized Smith's lungs, including a form of Burkholderia cenocepacia which mutated over a decade of antibiotic treatment from a normal vegetable bacteria into a rare, aggressive superbug with no known treatment.{{cite news |last1=Boodman |first1=Eric |title=To save a young woman besieged by superbugs, scientists hunt a killer virus |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/to-save-a-young-woman-besieged-by-superbugs-scientists-hunt-a-killer-virus |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |agency=NewsHour Productions LLC. |publisher=PBS |date=November 12, 2017}} This allowed her to push for experimental options with bacteriophage treatment, which engineers viruses to destroy bacteria. She attended Stanford University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa,{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-abcarian-mallory-20190308-story.html|title=A memoir unlike any you've read: A young woman's inspiring struggle with her invisible killer|last=Abcarian|first=Robin|website=Los Angeles Times|date=March 8, 2019 |access-date=2019-03-08}} majoring in human biology with a concentration in environmental anthropology. She also worked as a senior producer on Green Grid Radio, an environmental podcast featured on KCRW, National Radio Project and State of the Human. After graduation, Smith became a cystic fibrosis advocate and began work as a writer. However, her lungs took a turn for the worse in 2012 and she received a lung transplant on September 11, 2017.{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Karen |title=CF Patient, Recovering from Double Transplant, Inspires 'Lunges4Lungs' Fundraiser |url=https://cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com/2017/09/20/cf-patient-recovering-from-double-transplant-inspires-lunges4lungs-fundraiser/ |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |publisher=Cystic Fibrosis New Today |date=September 20, 2017}} Unfortunately, the superbug had survived in her throat and she died on November 15, 2017, at age 25 before bacteriophage treatment could be successfully administered. She provided lung samples to further the research for other patients.{{cite news |title=Beverly High Graduate, Cystic Fibrosis Advocate Mallory Smith Dies At 25 |url=http://bhcourier.com/2017/11/16/beverly-high-graduate-cystic-fibrosis-advocate-mallory-smith-dies-at-25/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327111932/https://bhcourier.com/2017/11/16/beverly-high-graduate-cystic-fibrosis-advocate-mallory-smith-dies-at-25/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |publisher=Beverly Hills Courier |date=November 16, 2017 }}
Advocacy
Smith's determination to live with joy despite her physical prognosis was inspirational to research and the cystic fibrosis community Smith's outlook is credited as a driving force behind two cystic fibrosis charities. "An Evening in Mallory’s Garden" was started in 1995 and has raised more than $5 million while Lunges4Lungs gained national awareness including corporate support from companies like Lululemon and star support including Katy Perry.
Works
In 2016 she co-authored The Gottlieb Native Garden: A California Love Story with horticulturist Susan Lenman Gottlieb which was published by the National Wildlife Federation,.{{cite news |last1=Foster |first1=Christine |title=Farewells: Young Alumna and Writer |url=https://stanfordmag.org/contents/young-alumna-and-writer |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |publisher=Stanford Magazine |date=March 20, 2018}} Her memoir, Salt in My Soul: an Unfinished Life, was posthumously edited and published at her direction by her mother, writer/publicist Diane Shader Smith through Penguin Random House on March 12, 2019.{{cite web |title=Salt in My Soul By Mallory Smith |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/607965/salt-in-my-soul-by-mallory-smith/ |website=Penguin Random House |accessdate=March 6, 2019}} It was subsequently optioned for production before its publication by The Invisible War and The Hunting Ground Oscar-nominated directors Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering.{{cite news |last1=Siegel |first1=Tatiana |title='Hunting Ground' Directors to Make Film Based on Memoir of Cystic Fibrosis Victim |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hunting-ground-team-sets-mallory-smith-cystic-fibrosis-doc-1187843 |accessdate=March 6, 2019 |publisher=Hollywood Reporter |date=February 19, 2019}}
List of works
- The Gottlieb Native Garden: A California Love Story, National Wildlife Federation, First edition October 25, 2016, {{ISBN| 0692783393}}
- Salt in My Soul: an Unfinished Life, Penguin Random House, Spiegel & Grau, First edition March 12, 2019, {{ISBN| 1984855425}}
References
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External links
- {{cite web|title=Salt in My Soul|year=2022|publisher=YouTube Movies & TV|website=YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGxCjASgMB8}}
- {{cite web|title=Salt in My Soul discussion with Rainn Wilson|publisher=Salt in My Soul|website=YouTube|date=February 8, 2022|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YHuIdMEgEE}} (sponsored by Cystic Fibrosis Research Institute; discussion moderated by Rainn Wilson with 7 other participants: Will Battersby (director of documentary), Diane Shader Smith, Micah Smith (Mallory's brother), Maya Humes (Mallory's friend), Gunnar Esiason, Steffanie A. Strathdee, and Benjamin Chan)
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Category:Stanford University alumni
Category:Deaths from cystic fibrosis
Category:People with cystic fibrosis
Category:21st-century American women writers