Since dissecting my cadaver in gross anatomy lab during med school, I’ve had a fascination with what happens to our bodies after we die. I recently met Judy Melinek at an online physician event and when I heard the description of her memoir, I knew I had to pick it up right away. The book explores Melinek’s career development as a forensic pathologist and centers on her time spent in the NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner from 2001 to 2002. The first 3/4 of the book details a number of cases Melinek encountered in her training—suicides, homicides, accidents, overdoses and run of the mill natural deaths. There is no shortage of guts and gore in these sections, but I was doing pretty well with it (with the exception of the detailed description of maggots inhabiting rotting flesh).
However, the last part of the book focuses on the role the ME’s office played in the recovery effort after the 911 attacks. I was a first year resident in NYC on that day and I’ve read many accounts and books on the subject, but this one really made me emotional. The image of refrigerator trucks full of body parts parked on Second Avenue is not one I will soon, or ever, forget. Melinek did a commendable job describing what it was like to participate in the recovery effort and how she steeled herself to stave off emotional breakdown and get the job done.
This is one of those non-fiction books that gives you a case of the “did you knows.” One pearl I shared with my family is: Your loyal golden retriever will sit by your dead body and starve while your cat will eat your eyeballs as soon as you take your last breath—I was never so glad to be a dog owner. Considering my obsession with this fun fact, I knew Caitlin Doughty’s book of questions and answers about death would have to be my next read.
If there is such a thing as a delightful book about dead bodies, then this is it! Doughty, a California mortician explores all sorts of fascinating questions about death. Her answers are informative and interesting and her light hearted tone and touches of humor make this a truly enjoyable read. She narrates the audiobook herself and many of her hilarious explanations had me laughing out loud…about corpses. Doughty does not shy away from gory details, so squeamish readers may want to steer clear.
Some of the questions she explores include:
What happens to an astronaut who dies in space?
Can my pet be buried with me when I die?
Do bodies poop after death?
Why was my grandmother wrapped in plastic for her viewing?
What if my family wants to save my skull?
And so many more. This book is not for the faint of heart, but it is an, educational and strangely entertaining look at the many things that happen to our bodies after we die.
Bonus pick: Doughty’s memoir, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, is a fascinating look at how the American depth industry works. Pick this up if you haven’t yet had your fill of death details.