Claire Bidwell Smith

Claire Bidwell Smith is a therapist specializing in grief and the author of three books of nonfiction: The Rules of Inheritance, After This: When Life is Over Where Do We Go? and Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief. Claire offers numerous online programs for grief in addition to working with people one-on-one. Led by her own experiences with grief, and fueled by her work in hospice and private practice, Claire strives to provide support for all kinds of people experiencing all kinds of grief. In addition to having given dozens of talks on grief, Claire has written for and been featured in many publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Scientific American, The LA Times, MSNBC, The Chicago Tribune, Goop, Oprah Magazine, and Psychology Today. She deeply loves her work and is devoted to expanding the conversation about grief and loss. Her memoir The Rules of Inheritance has been published in 18 countries and is currently being adapted for film.

Claire can be found at clairebidwellsmith.com.

Charitable Organization: Pen America

testimonials

“Claire is an amazing writing mentor. She is incredibly insightful, and just seems to know exactly what my story needs. I have renewed excitement after every session with her.”

—Shanna Zareski

Praise for claire’s writing

“A powerful, moving memoir of overcoming grief and loss.” —Booklist, Starred Review

“Vivid, real and gripping.”—Blackbook Magazine

“Forget everything you think you know about grief. Smith’s memoir is the most honest book I've ever read about how loss unmoors, challenges and changes you, written in prose so exquisite it could be poetry. Dazzlingly brave and absolutely true.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You

“Gorgeously written, compulsively readable, and heartbreakingly true, The Rules of Inheritance is a small masterpiece of honesty. Anyone who's lost a parent will find themselves in this story. I couldn't stop reading it, and was sorry when it had to end." —Hope Edelman, author of Motherless Daughters