Claire Bidwell Smith, who lost both her mother and father to cancer by the age of 25. Photograph: Ron Purdy
When Claire Bidwell Smith was 14, the two her dad and mom had been diagnosed with cancer. Her mom died when she was 18, her father when she was 25. This direct and unflinching memoir is Claire’s account of how she coped (or did not cope): alcohol, tattoos, escapist travel, dark romantic relationships, danger. And a good deal of loneliness.
Structured according to Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance – Bidwell-Smith tells her story in accordance to emotions rather than time. The narrative is hence non-linear, dotting from carefree college days in Vermont far away from her parents’ home, and an internship in partying for the LA office of “Large Fancy Magazine” to abortion operation rooms and diving with sharks in the Philippines.
As well, there is the extended-phrase partnership with a jealous guy accused of stabbing his sister to death (“I’ll in no way yet again be in a position to shake the small seed of doubt about his innocence”). During these episodes her mother and father feature, even when no longer alive the story of her dad sweeping her mom off her feet is echoed when Claire marries her husband Greg in the Cape Cod church exactly where her dad and mom said their vows.
Pared down prose tends to make this an intense and affecting little book, even if the happy-ever-right after ending is relatively pat. The storyline – damaged youthful girl settles for domestic bliss – is traditional Hollywood materials, and the other satisfied ending for the writer is that Oscar-winning Jennifer Lawrence has purchased the movie rights.
The Principles of Inheritance overview an unflinching account of reduction
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