Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

by Mary Roach

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About this book

Okay, you're thinking: "This must be some kind of a joke. A humorous book about cadavers?"

Yup — and it works.

Mary Roach takes the age-old question, "What happens to us after we die?" quite literally. And in Stiff, she explores the "lives" of human cadavers from the time of the ancient Egyptians all the way up to current campaigns for human composting. Along the way, she recounts with morbidly infectious glee how dead bodies are used for research ranging from car safety and plastic surgery (you'll cancel your next collagen injection after reading this!), to the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin.

Impossible (and irreverent) as it may sound, Roach has written a book about corpses that's both lively and fresh. She traveled around the globe to conduct her forensic investigations, and her findings are wryly intelligent. While the myriad uses for cadavers recounted are often graphic, Roach imbues her subject with a sense of dignity, choosing to emphasize the oddly noble purposes corpses serve, from organ donation to lifesaving medical research.

Readers will come away convinced of the enormous debt that we, the living, owe to the study of the remains of the dead. And while it may not offer the answer to the ancient mystery we were hoping for, Stiff offers a strange sort of comfort in the knowledge that, in a sense, death isn't necessarily the end.

“Inside each of us is a home ready to be built.”, Mary Roach

Count Your Coffees

I loved this one a bit more than I should have, I'm sure. Let me be honest from the start here: if you are uneasy with the concept of death or human bodies as cadavers, this one is not going to be for you.

Mary Roach takes us along for autopsies and various medical experiments. Some are interesting, some are gross, most are both. Mary Roach succeeds in walking that thing and dangerous line between the scientific approach of the dark and a softer, lighter touch of humor. Her fascination with the morbid is infectious, if you are so inclined, and it appears there's still quite a lot to learn about the post-life of our bodies. While this is most certainly a scientific book, the human(e) aspect is never absent, as the author voices the reactions of disgust, fascination and surprise we would all have.

I loved it, but even then, despite being medically trained, there were moments I was happy I didn't have spaghetti that day (if you know, you know). Know this book comes with a huge list of trigger warnings. It is however a most fascinating read and Mary Roach proves once again she writes best about the topics we are all a bit squeamish about.

Buy this book: https://amzn.to/3VIK2dZ

This site earns a small commission fee if you buy using any of the commercial links. This will not cost you anything extra, but helps me invest in the content I offer you free of charge. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your patronage, it makes all the difference!