Working Stiff

I'm a morbid creature that likes to read about death & shit. So, when I came across this book I was really excited to read it.

Judy Melinek was a Medical Examiner in New York city from (roughly) 2001-2003. During her time there, she performed autopsies on 262 bodies.

This book had me hooked from the beginning. It flowed really well & was upbeat for a book based solely on death. I was worried that she would use too many medical terms and I would be completely lost, but while she did use the correct phrasing, she also explained everything in a way that the reader would understand.

It was really cool to hear about her cases. She had performed autopsies on all kinds of deaths such as: natural, accidental, suicide, homicide, & even mass casualty. I really enjoyed hearing about the homicides because it was like little mysteries thrown in there. She helped bring many of the victims families justice by working with the police to bring down the killers.

Everyone that's old enough to remember 9/11 has a story of where they were & what they were doing when those towers went down. Me? I was in 3rd grade and the teachers turned on the television to let us watch it for a while. We were too young to really understand what was going on, so when the towers started falling, they took us all to the gym to let us play. I remember that I had just started playing when my mom came and signed me out from school. She's really religious and seriously thought that the world was ending. My husband's birthday is actually on 9/11. He was also in the 3rd grade but no one had signed him out of school early because they were planning a surprise party when he had gotten out of school. Back then, people still used camcorders to record special occasions. Years later, I watched that recording & I have to say that it was the saddest party ever. Everyone was somber & stone-faced while he blew the candles out and opened up presents. The whole time, the 9/11 news coverage was playing in the background.

Judy Melinek told us the entire story of what happened to her on 9/11. Her and the team of medical examiners that she worked with put in long hours trying to identify every person that came to them. They rarely got whole bodies.

The tone of the book did indeed shift at this point. Reading about the world trade center (or any mass casualty) is very emotional. It made me see all of the people that helped with the aftermath in a different light.

To me, death is a very fascinating thing and if you think so as well, then I strongly recommend this book. I will warn you that it does go into detail, so if you're squeamish just be aware of that.