ABOUT
Claire Bidwell Smith is a therapist specializing in grief and the internationally renowned author of five books including Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief. Led by her own experiences with loss, and fueled by her work in hospice and private practice, Claire strives to provide support for all kinds of people experiencing all kinds of grief. She deeply loves her work and is devoted to expanding the conversation about grief, as well as training other clinicians called to the field of grief and loss.
In addition to having given dozens of talks on loss, Claire has written for and been featured in many publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Today Show, MSNBC, CNN, Goop, Oprah Magazine, and Psychology Today. Claire previously hosted Lemonada Media’s popular New Day podcast and her memoir, The Rules of Inheritance, is currently being adapted for television.
SUGGESTED TOPICS
- Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief
- Anxiety in the Wake of Loss: Strategies for Working With the Missing Stage of Grief
- Conscious Grieving: Engaging With Loss for a Meaningful Life
- Conscious Grieving: How Embracing Grief Can Transform Us
- Surrendering to Grief: How to Find a Path Forward
- Our Post-Pandemic World: Coping With Grief in Uncertain Times
REVIEWS
“With wisdom and grace, Claire Bidwell Smith navigates the mysteries of grief to show us that there is great meaning and even magic to be found in exploring the unknown.” — Maria Shriver, bestselling author of WHAT’S HEAVEN?
“Anyone who has lost someone close to them knows grief, but few articulate it like Claire Bidwell Smith.”
– The Herald Sun
“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
“Both soothing and informative…Smith’s words are particularly useful for panic attack sufferers…she shows you how you can normalize your panic.”
― New York Times Book Review
“Smith’s voice is so assured, so curious, that it’s impossible not to want to follow her wherever she might lead us, from organized religion to shamanism to science. No matter what you believe, Smith makes it clear that pondering the meaning of death “has an enormous impact on how we live our lives.” And what she leaves us most with is a sense of wonder about the unknown and a shining kind of hope.”
– SF Gate
“In After This, Bidwell Smith, an enchanting, knowledgeable, and candid guide, bravely describes her idiosyncratic journey through the various landscapes in which her grief has manifested. Her two callings — writing and helping others confront death — dovetail beautifully.”
– Los Angeles Review of Books
IN THE MEDIA
The Anxiety You’re Feeling Might Be Pandemic Grief by Claire Bidwell Smith for TIME, 2024
This Is Your Brain On Grief by Claire Bidwell Smith for Oprah Daily, 2024
Grief-Induced Anxiety: Calming the Fears that Follow Loss by Jessica DuLong for CNN, 2021
The Effect of Grief a Year into the Pandemic, MSNBC American Voices, 2021
Grief in the time of Covid-19 by By Shoshana Ungerleider and Claire Bidwell Smith for Scientific American, 2020
My Kids are Asking Questions About Death Thanks to the Pandemic by Claire Bidwell Smith for Romper, 2020
Dealing with Anxiety, Mental Illness and Grief by Judith Newman for The New York Times, 2019
Why Anxiety Should be Added to the 5 Stages of Grief by Claire Bidwell Smith for The Washington Post, 2018
Videos & Podcasts
Good Life Project Podcast: How to Breathe Through Grief hosted by Jonathan Field, 2024
goop Podcast: What’s Our Grief Asking Us To Do? 2024
New Day with Claire Bidwell Smith by Lemonada Media, 2021 – 2022
Everybody Hurts with Maria Shriver and Claire Bidwell Smith for End Well, 2020
Dear Sugars: Moving On, Part 1: How do you carry on after the death of a loved one? hosted by Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond, 2018
BOOKS
Conscious Grieving (Workman, 2023)
Anxiety & Grief Workbook (PESI, 2022)
Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief (Da Capo, 2018)
After This: When Life is Over Where Do We Go? (Penguin, 2015)
The Rules of Inheritance (Penguin, 2012)