Patty Wain Smith registered her first song copyright in her teens and was later awarded an Honorable Mention in the Music City Song Festival national songwriting competition. She created a family violence prevention program at her ELCA church, and has worked as a hotline counselor for Parents Anonymous and Citizens Against Spouse Abuse. Patty’s been a speaker with the Family Justice Center of GHC Speakers Bureau. She's appeared on Carolina and Company Live television and on radio.

Her first book, A Letter to a Friend: The Story of Abuse in America, won the 2022 Hope PYX Global International Book Award, the 2022 Illumination Book Awards Enduring Light Silver Medal, the 2020 Writer's Digest Book Awards Honorable Mention, three 2019 International Book Awards Finalists, and the 2019 Living Now Book Awards Bronze Medal.

Her studies in psychology at the University of South Carolina-Coastal earned her membership in the Psi Chi International Honor Society as well as graduate coursework in counseling at Webster University. Her other professional memberships include the South Carolina Writers Association and The Authors Guild. Patty is a domestic abuse survivor, an experienced child development c&t specialist and educational consultant, and a lifetime advocate for children.