Kathryn Smith is a journalist and writer with a life-long interest in FDR and his circle. She has lived all her life in Georgia and South Carolina, and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Georgia. She worked as a daily newspaper reporter and editor, and has been the book columnist for the Anderson Independent Mail for 20 years. Her specialization in health care reporting led to the establishment and management of a charity for cancer patients in her hometown of Anderson, S.C. She has been involved through Rotary International in the worldwide effort to eradicate polio, called PolioPlus, and she has lectured and spoken on FDR’s leadership in that arena. Smith is the author of an oral history of World War II told by living veterans and civilians called A NECESSARY WAR.

Books by Kathryn Smith

The Gatekeeper: Missy LeHand, FDR, and the Untold Story of the Partnership That Defined a Presidency

by Kathryn Smith - Biography, History, Nonfiction

Widely considered the first female presidential chief of staff, Marguerite “Missy” LeHand was the right-hand woman to FDR for more than 20 years. Although her official title as personal secretary was relatively humble, her power and influence were unparalleled. She was one of his most trusted advisors, affording her a unique perspective on the president that no one else could claim. With unprecedented access to Missy’s family and original source materials, journalist Kathryn Smith tells the captivating and forgotten story of the intelligent, loyal and clever woman who had a front-row seat to history in the making.