The universal quest to discover what happens when life
ends is one that acclaimed author and grief therapist Claire Bidwell
Smith encounters every day in her private practice. Having lost both her
parents by age 25, it is also one that hits home. In AFTER THIS, an
exploration of the afterlife that is part personal, part prescriptive –
Smith invites us on her journey into the unknown.
Chronicling our steps along the path that bridges this world and the next, Smith undergoes past-life regressions and sessions with mediums and psychics and immerses herself in the ceremonies of organized religion and the rigor of scientific experiments to try and find answers to life’s most unanswerable questions.
Drawing on her personal losses, chronicled in her memoir The Rules of Inheritance, as well as her background working in hospice as a bereavement counselor, Smith attempts to show how exploring the afterlife can have a positive impact on the grief process.
Brave, profound, and ultimately inspiring, AFTER THIS is unique in the power of the personal journey that underlies the book’s message: What we believe about what happens next affects everything about how we live – and love – right now.
Claire Bidwell Smith is the author of The Rules of Inheritance and
After This. The Rules of Inheritance has been published in seventeen countries and is currently being adapted for film. Claire has a master’s degree in clinical psychology and is a therapist specializing in grief. She regularly teaches writing workshops and gives talks on both writing and grief. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including The Huffington Post, Slate, Salon.com, Chicago Public Radio and BlackBook. She lives in Los Angeles with her two daughters.