Comment

Working Stiff

Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner
Sarah1984
May 06, 2016Sarah1984 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
9/3 - Reading this, I feel like this it's the true story of Kay Scarpetta, for the new century. I like Melinek's voice and style of writing and her irreverent way of looking at death. I love the way she describes her reaction to shows featuring characters doing her job - the fact that they go to every crime scene, the women wear their good high-heeled shoes, they actually help with the investigation. From now on CSI will be light-hearted crime fiction, in the same league as those 'cosy mysteries' that feature little old lady super-sleuths, not a realistic look into the life of a medical examiner. I can see the irony and humour in some of the causes of death that she sees (although, not when contemplating my own future). For example, an unfortunate worker having his morning coffee gets hit in the head by a giant crane, a crane so large that he is practically crumpled into the ground like an aluminium can. Although, at the same time reading medical nonfiction does hit a bit close to home for someone only weeks away from having major surgery to remove a 9 x 7 cm suspicious mass, along with 25% of her liver. Maybe I shouldn't be reading this right now... So far I'm enjoying it despite the negative thoughts it's bringing up. To be continued... 12/3 - Not as bad as I thought it was going to be re bringing up disturbing thoughts, except for one of the later chapters focussing on deaths due to 'medical misadventures' or 'therapeutic complications' as Melinek puts it - when a patient dies during non-emergent surgery due to surgeon error. Reading about the ordeal Melinek and her fellow medical examiners went through in the aftermath of September 11 was a little tough, even for someone who's never been to New York - body bags becoming body part bags becoming body bit bags (a lump of skin, a piece of an intestine) and thinking of all the families who don't KNOW what happened to their father, mother, son, daughter. That was really sad. I do wonder how she remembered the details of all these cases, from 14 years ago, so vividly, even seeming to repeat conversations word for word. I also wonder how she managed to get all the patient's families to agree to have their family member's death story revealed in the ME's memoir. There was no mention anywhere of the names having been changed to protect the surviving family members, so I have to assume that all those names are real. Whatever the case, highly recommended to those with a strong stomach and a lack of anxiety regarding all the ways they and their loved ones could die.