The Rules of Inheritance - Hardcover

Smith, Claire Bidwell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1594630887 ISBN 13: 9781594630880

Publisher: Hudson Street Press, 2012

Synopsis

A coming-of-age story that is both heartbreaking and exhilarating.
In this astonishing debut, Claire Bidwell Smith, an only child, is just fourteen years old when both of her charismatic parents are diagnosed with cancer. What follows is a coming-of-age story that is both heartbreaking and exhilarating. As Claire hurtles towards loss she throws herself at anything she thinks might help her cope with the weight of this harsh reality: boys, alcohol, traveling, and the anonymity of cities like New York and Los Angeles. By the time she is twenty-five years old they are both gone and Claire is very much alone in the world.

Claire's story is less of a tragic tale and more of a remarkable lesson on how to overcome some of life's greatest hardships. Written with suspense and style, and bursting with love and adventure, The Rules of Inheritance vividly captures the deep grief and surprising light of a young woman forging ahead on a journey of loss that humbled, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

About this title

About the Author

Claire Bidwell Smith lives in Los Angeles. She is a therapist specializing in grief.

Review

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

In this deeply reflective, anguished memoir, L.A. journalist and psychotherapist Smith revisits the staggered death of her two parents from cancer as steps in the process of grieving.Smith's prose possesses a blistering power, rendering this youthful memoir an affecting journey into loss. --Publisher's Weekly

A brave and intelligent book about big loss and even bigger love. The gritty truth and hard won grace in this beautiful memoir astonishes me. -Cheryl Strayed, New York Times bestselling author of WILD

This beautiful memoir is about what we inherit--the love as well as the sorrow and loss that are an inevitable part of human connection.  In lucid, unsentimental prose, Claire Bidwell Smith maps out the story of her abrupt and rocky coming-of-age. This book will stay with me. --Dani Shapiro, New York Times bestselling author of Devotion



Claire Bidwell Smith has written a beautiful book; it's a perfectly crafted story -- not about grief, but how to walk out of grief with your soul intact; it's not a lamentaion, but a lesson.THE RULES OF INHERITANCE should be required reading for anybody who's trying to get their arms around a big sadness. -Darin Strauss, Author of HALF A LIFE

Edition details

• Publisher: Hudson Street Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1594630887
• ISBN 13: 9781594630880
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304