In the late 1950s, Smith was introduced to writer and local historian Edward Arpee (1899–1979), author of such books as "The History of Lake Forrest Academy" (1944) and "From Frigates to Flat-tops" (1953), with whom she planned to collaborate on her memoirs. Arpee later recalled that he prepared a manuscript about the survival of Grand Duchess Anastasia "working from material supplied by Mrs. Smith in odds and ends, and in innumerable interviews". He later asserted: "She was difficult to get along with; I never received any thanks for my work during those years". Smith continued to review her manuscript with her long-time champion, Helen Kohlstaat Wells, until the latter's death in 1959.