The Rules of Inheritance

A powerful and searingly honest memoir about a young woman who loses her family but
finds herself in the process.

In this astonishing debut, Claire Bidwell Smith is just fourteen years old when both of
her charismatic parents are diagnosed with cancer. With an impatience typical of youth,
Claire 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.

What is so remarkable about this tale is not always the story itself, but rather Claire's
ability to let you into it. Both the clarity of her self-reflection and the unconventional
framework the author uses to navigate her story turn the memoir genre on its head and
make this book impossible to put down. Bringing a fresh eye to the world of grief, this
book is evocative of both A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and The Year of
Magical Thinking, and Claire's journey is at once heartbreaking, uplifting, and utterly
unforgettable.