“Fun…and full of smart science. Fans of CSI–the real kind–will want to read it” (The Washington Post): A young forensic pathologist’s “rookie season” as a NYC medical examiner, and the hair-raising cases that shaped her as a physician and human being. Just two months before the September 11 terrorist attacks, Dr. Judy Melinek began her training as a New York City forensic pathologist. While … pathologist. While her husband and their toddler held down the home front, Judy threw herself into the fascinating world of death investigation–performing autopsies, investigating death scenes, counseling grieving relatives. Working Stiff chronicles Judy’s two years of training, taking readers behind the police tape of some of the most harrowing deaths in the Big Apple, including a firsthand account of the events of September 11, the subsequent anthrax bio-terrorism attack, and the disastrous crash of American Airlines Flight 587.
An unvarnished portrait of the daily life of medical examiners–complete with grisly anecdotes, chilling crime scenes, and a welcome dose of gallows humor–Working Stiff offers a glimpse into the daily life of one of America’s most arduous professions, and the unexpected challenges of shuttling between the domains of the living and the dead. The body never lies–and through the murders, accidents, and suicides that land on her table, Dr. Melinek lays bare the truth behind the glamorized depictions of autopsy work on television to reveal the secret story of the real morgue. “Haunting and illuminating…the stories from her average workdays…transfix the reader with their demonstration that medical science can diagnose and console long after the heartbeat stops” (The New York Times).more
I listened to the audio book and found it easy to listen to. Great narration!
In the beginning I got a funny feeling in my tummy when she started describing the accident sites and wasn’t sure if I really wanted to know all these things. I realized soon that it was pretty clinical described and not too disturbing. Well, the deaths and the things that happend to cause them are made very clear and it is probably not for the faint at heart. But there is no dwelling on gory details just the plain facts.
The author loves her job and you can definitely tell. It is amazing what signs and clues and tests point to the actual cause of death even if it seems to be a different one on first sight.
I learned a lot and found it to be very interesting and have great respect for medical examiners. I am glad I listened to it.
I enjoyed this look into the world of a medical examiner. The book had humor, tragedy, and was written in a way to keep me reading and entertained.
I adore this book. Not only was it informative and a fascinating look into the life of a big city medical examiner, but it also had a hopeful and jovial tone that contrasted nicely with some of the grim scenes Melinek described. The one point in the book that really made me stop and reflect was her description of the 9/11 attack and the aftermath. I had no idea how intensive and massive the recovery operation was. I just never thought about it. It was extremely humbling and heartbreaking to revisit 9/11 through Melinek’s eyes and deal with the disaster from that perspective. I’m very glad she included the 9/11 portion, and I’m in awe of the dedication the medical examiner team and all other first responders and support who helped our country handle and move forward from 9/11.
Overall Rating: 5 Stars. I loved this book and the intimate view it gave of Melinek’s life and job. The writing was great and the anecdotes were interesting. I highly recommend this book.
A memoir of two years in the education of a medical examiner–in New York, in 2001-2002. Yes, she was there for 9/11.
This is a remarkable book, totally engaging. I strongly recommend for people interested in the subject–or who like memoirs in general.
This was a great book. So interesting and informative. Really fun to learn about the world of medical examiners.
This book is great if you’re interested in the detail work behind autopsies and learning how the body shows us how someone died.
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. Since dissecting my cadaver in gross anatomy lab during med school, I’ve had a strange fascination with what happens to our bodies after we die. 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 prevent 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!
This is definitely one of the better “true crime” autobiographies that I’ve read. I’ve always had a fascination with forensics and this book really hits the nail on the head!
It’s about the life of a surgeon turned forensic pathologist in the New York City medical examiners office.
She mentions that most of her autopsies were mainly normal types of deaths…. Heart attacks, old age, accidents.. Etc etc. But some of her more hair raising examinations were brutal and something you couldn’t imagine in your nightmares.
There was a particular case she spoke of that (without giving spoilers) made my stomach curdle. And that’s saying a lot coming from a true horror movie fanatic.
Just a fair warning…. This book IS NOT for the faint of heart. But if you can handle it, this is a fantastic read!