Meet
Claire

People often ask me if my work is sad. I always shake my head, and tell them no, it’s beautiful. Grief is about love. It’s about relationships. It’s one of the most human experiences we can have in this lifetime. Often the conversations I have with people who are grieving are the most real conversations I have each week. Yes, there is pain and sadness in grief, but there is also so much beauty.

I didn’t grow up wanting to be a grief counselor. I wanted to be a writer instead. But when I was fourteen, both of my parents got cancer at the same time. I was an only child and my parents’ unexpected diagnoses consumed our whole little family. My magical, luminous mother died when I was eighteen years old and in my freshman semester of college. My father died seven years later when I was twenty-five.

I entered into young adulthood very alone and overwhelmed with grief and anxiety. Back then there were not as many amazing grief resources as there are today and everyone around me told me I would be fine and to just carry on. But I wasn’t fine. I had to hit rock bottom before I could begin to find a way to heal. And healing looked like a lot of things for me – therapy and education, yoga and meditation, self-compassion and service work. All I knew was that the more I leaned into my grief, the more I acknowledged and accepted it, the better able I was to cope with it.

Eventually I went back to school and earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology and became a therapist. Initially I worked in hospice, counseling patients at the end of their lives and families grieving their loved ones. The experience was deeply humbling, and I came to understand that while I knew a lot about grief, I only knew my grief. To this day, I learn something new every single time I sit with someone who has experienced loss.

I eventually went into private practice and began leading retreats and hosting seminars. And all along the way I’ve been writing about grief. To date, I’ve written five books published in 22 countries: The Rules of Inheritance (Penguin, 2012), After This: When Life Is Over Where Do We Go? (Penguin, 2015), Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief(Hachette, 2018), Anxious Grief: A Clinician’s Guide (PESI Publishing, 2022), and Conscious Grieving (Workman, 2023).

The Rules of Inheritance, a coming-of-age memoir about the loss of my parents, was a Books for a Better Life Nominee, a Barnes & Noble Discover pick, has been published in 19 countries, and is currently being adapted for television. After This chronicles my journey as a grief therapist searching for meaning as I explore various beliefs about the afterlife. Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief has been embraced by the clinical world, as well as the general public as a book that expands the psychology of grief and recognizes anxiety as a symptom. Anxious Grief: A Clinician’s Guidebook offers practical tools for therapists working with grieving clients. And Conscious Grieving offers a comprehensive and soothing guide for those who are experiencing profound loss.

These days I live with my family in Santa Monica, California. I can be found seeing clients one-on-one, leading support groups and retreats, mentoring mental health professionals, and lecturing on the topic of grief around the country. I deeply love my work and am committed to expanding the conversation about grief for all those who are struggling to cope with loss.

Media and Event Bios

Standard Bio (118 words)

Recognized as one of today’s foremost experts on grief, Claire Bidwell Smith is a licensed therapist, international speaker, and the author of five books published in 22 countries. Led by her own experience in 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 loss. Claire has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, MSNBC, CNN, Scientific American, Goop, Oprah and many more outlets. Her most recent books Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief and Conscious Grieving have provided groundbreaking and transformative approaches to the process of grief. Learn more at clairebidwellsmith.com or by following @clairebidwellsmith on social media.

Short Bio (61 words)

Recognized as one of today’s foremost experts on grief, Claire Bidwell Smith is a licensed therapist, international speaker, and the author of five books published in 22 countries. Led by her own experience in 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 loss. www.clairebidwellsmith.com

Connect

Join Claire Bidwell Smith on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

For media or collaboration contact Claire’s team here.

Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, License No. 180007946, State of Illinois