Shay Smith

Shay Smith is a woman and mother who is passionate about mental health advocacy and communication. She lives in a small community in East Texas with her family, which includes her husband and 5 children. Shay received her masters of arts degree in literature with a focus on children's and young adult literature. She has had several different careers from being a pharmacy technician to working as an obituary writer, but she feels most passionate about her budding career as a writer.

As Shay's passion for writing has grown, she has stepped out of her comfort zone in the last year to publish her first work under the pseudonym Ashlee Keller. She most commonly writes romantic short stories, but has recently taken up the pen to help others.

As someone who has experienced postpartum depression, Shay has decided to do what she can to help others through their own journeys with the diagnosis. She is avid in her search for wellness and balance through her own mental health journey, but hopes that in communicating her own struggles and journey will help others through their own. Shay wants to help bring light to the darkness of the world of postpartum depression.

In addition to her writing, Shay is a busy mother of 5 with ages ranging from 16 to a pair of 1-year-old twins. When she's not busy keeping her people alive and thriving, she enjoys reading, writing, cooking/baking, tabletop gaming and spending time with her friends. Despite the demands of her family, she finds many ways to allow her creative pursuits to flourish. She has found that allowing for her creativity helps her mental well-being. She follows the motto that you cannot pour from an empty cup and has gone out of her way to ensure that she takes care of herself in order to take care of those she loves.

Click here to read all of Shay's articles on Postpartum.mental-health-community.com.