The Rules of Inheritance is a memoir written by Claire Bidwell Smith. As a teenager both of her parents are diagnosed with cancer. This memoir is a collection of her feelings, trials, tribulations, and adventures as a young girl who must deal with such life-changing events. Told in a non-linear fashion, Claire recalls her struggles with alcohol, bad relationships with men, and her feelings of loss as she loses one parent and then the other to cancer.
As someone who has recently lost my mom to cancer, I could identify with a lot of what she wrote. In particular, “I kept waiting for someone more grown up than me to appear and take over, but no one ever did…” and “I felt an emptiness spread in me from the inside out. It was as though I was an astronaut, disconnected from my ship, floating in cold blackness, my breath coming in plumes, and static the only sound.” Only someone who has lost someone near and dear to them would be able to write words that ring so true. The book is eloquent; almost poetic at times.
I recommend this book; especially for someone who has been through the drawn-out hell they call cancer. You need to be prepared, though, for the rush of emotions that this book will evoke.
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This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own. Book cover image source.
