Claire Bidwell Smith

I’m in a rush right now, having finally slept (and overslept) a solid night’s sleep last night. I have to be in the recording studio in 45 minutes to finish recording the last three chapters of my book. The last couple of days have flown by. The recording itself has gone better than anyone could have anticipated — we’re actually flying through the book so quickly that I get to go home a day early, and I am thrilled that I will be there tomorrow night to put my little girl to bed. (I’m sure Greg is thrilled too.)

The recording has been amazing. It’s such a strange experience to read one’s ENTIRE book out loud. I sit in a little sound room that is so amazingly quiet that my ears ring when I’m not speaking, and I read into a microphone from printed loose-leaf pages of my book. I sip hot water with honey and shift my position ever so often and sometimes glance up through the glass window I’m facing, as my producer or sound engineer have a note.

Overall, it’s been really quite enjoyable. I got a little emotional at the very end of Chapter One on the first day, and then again yesterday when I read from the chapter in which my father and I visit the Czech Republic together. Some chapters have been kind of annoying to read, and some have been really pleasurable. All in all, it’s been a really incredible way to be with my book. I’m so grateful for the experience and can’t wait for you to take a listen at some point. The audio version should be available by the end of the month!

Last night one of my former professors (& fantastic writer) , Susan Shapiro, threw me a special party at her house to celebrate the launch of my book. It was surely one of the most surreal moments of my entire life. Sue has an amazing, book-filled, very New York apartment downtown and last night it was filled to the brim with all kinds of interesting publishing-literary writer people I didn’t know, who were there to toast me and my book. Susan gave a warm and funny speech about me being one of her students (apparently I got an A- in her class) and then my agent said some amazing things about me being one of those special people that come into your life and I teared up, and then my editor spoke about how much she and I have in common, and how much we’ve bonded over the last year.

After that I spoke, addressing this crowded apartment full of people, and told them how ten years ago I was a student at the New School, in a very different, very sad, place in my life and how I could have only dreamed about one day being a writer and having someone throw me a party like this. It was all simply incredible. I never felt nervous because none of it seemed quite real, and because two of my best friends were standing in the corner so whenever things got too surreal, I would just look over at them and they’d wink and smile and I’d remember who I was again.

Okay, I literally have 6 minutes to get out the door. More soon. My friend (and talented writer) Aidan writes much more eloquently about last night on her blog right here.