Senior Year: a memoir

by Kelley Dietsch Smith

Once upon the summer of 1987, there was a very good girl who had done everything right. She was smart, athletic, friendly, independent, responsible, ambitious, and...she was in love. She was a good girl with a hopeful future, and she was very happy. But then, just a few weeks before her triumphant senior year, she made a mistake. Just one mistake, but it was a big one. And in a single moment, all the good things she'd done became irrelevant. The happily ever after she had so carefully cultivated was shattered like a carelessly-dropped glass slipper. How can she find the path back to the life of the good girl she used to have? Maybe that life, that girl, is gone forever.

317 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 26, 2021

About the author

Kelley Dietsch Smith lives in Maryland where she is a wife, a mom, and a teacher who loves stories. For many years, she voraciously read other people's stories while a yearning to tell her own kept growing. It finally spilled out into a memoir about the single year of her life, over 30 years ago, that set the stage for all the years since.

Reviews

[Dale Lehman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met fellow Maryland author Kelley Dietsch Smith at a Maryland Writers' Association event in April, 2025, where we shared a table. I don't read memoirs very often, but when she got up to do her reading, I was instantly hooked and bought a copy of her book.

Senior Year is, as you might expect, the story of one year in Kelly's life: her senior year in high school, a year full of hope and promise. But for her, it seemed to go all wrong right from the start when she became pregnant and she and her boyfriend had to face the complete inversion of their world.

An unusual aspect of this work is that it's told not in prose but in verse. I'm no judge of poetry. I suspect that poets and those who read poetry might find Kelly's verse a bit too free and unstructured, but I will say that she finds some good imagery along the way, and there is an emotional intensity to the work, particularly as the story draws to a close. I was hit pretty hard by certain parts, but then the story roughly parallels my own life, plus I'm a bit more sensitive to such things right now because my wife passed away just three years ago.

Whatever the quality of the poetry, the tale draws you in and keeps you reading, and that makes it worth the time.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who married their high school sweetheart (who is also an REM fan) and is a sucker for young love, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I loved how unpretentious it was - written as sort of a stream of consciousness but so poetic.

I laughed and cried as she so beautifully described a heck of a year for anyone, let alone a 17-year old. The love and support that her family provided was very touching. Highly recommend this story of faith, hope, love and a happily ever after!

[Katy Stanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for a local author event at Rudolph Girls Books. I enjoyed the memoir written in verse very much. It hits on timely issues and timeless relationships and could spark some lively discussions about family, the church, birth control, abortion, and empowering women to make their own life choices. Everyone should be lucky enough to have the kind of family, friends, and lovers described in this book about one girl's speedy coming of age.

[Lesley B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book! Written in narrative prose, the words, artfully placed on the page, transported me into the author’s world as she navigated powerful and defining moments in her life. It’s a story about friendship, what it means to be a family, and the power of unconditional love. So many great lessons in here. Treat yourself!!!

[Teri McLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began and finished reading this memoir in one night. Kelley’s honest, authentic story had me turning the pages rapidly, in anticipation. Her purposeful words created vivid images that evoked deep emotions. Love…love of her faith, her family, and her friends, and the love of her soulmate and their child made for relatable, relevant connections.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part heartfelt prose / part stream of consciousness. Poetic in form. I’m sure it was cathartic to write. It also brought back some fun memories from our hs days, and made me miss all the friendships we once had, before life took us in different directions.