Claypool was a published author in a variety of religious and secular media. He authored eleven books, many of which have been translated into multiple world languages.

 

A prominent theme in Claypool’s sermons, speaking engagements, workshops, and writings is the transformative experience. His first and arguably most popular book, Tracks of a Fellow Struggler: How to Handle Grief, 1974, is a compilation of sermons Claypool delivered surrounding the devastating news of his daughter’s leukemia diagnosis and her death eighteen months later. He describes the book as reflecting his own “encounter with the realities of terminal illness and death and the grief that follows.” Claypool also deals with the topic of learning from loss in his book Mending the Heart: Spiritual Resources for Coping with Grief. Claypool held several workshops on this book as well.

 

The implications of a transformed life can be found in Claypool’s reflections on the place of gratitude, hope and forgiveness. He never drifted far from his Baptist training in turning to themes within the biblical texts. His last book, The First to Follow: The Apostles of Jesus, 2008, published posthumously and compiled by his wife, Ann, explores the relationships of the apostles with one another and with Jesus, and what we can learn from them.