Stiff

This is a surprising book because while it is certainly macabre, it’s not morbid (at least not for me) and is strangely entertaining. It demystifies the human body and the process of death and dying. 

Even as the author delves into every aspect of dead bodies, she does so with compassion and humor. Rooted and backed up with science, this book held my interest from beginning to end, and I read it non-stop for over a day and a half. Despite its grave subject matter, this book is not dark or scary. It’s matter-of-fact and very educational.

Mary Roach is a woman after my own heart.

Grimly fascinated and unflinching without crossing the line into disrespect. Her very personal introduction, discussing how a cadaver is just that, no longer a person, and how she realised this when inadvertently made to spend time with her mother's body, sets her up as the perfect person to discuss bodies with humour, warmth, and interest.

The opening chapter about the medical use for decapitated heads sets the tone from the off, and the book made me finally get around to donating my body to medical science so that I too could… show more.

Mary Roach displays an uncanny ability to make science accessible and death hilarious in Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. If you have even a hint of morbid curiosity, you must read this book. She answers so many questions that I’d always been afraid to ask, like what really happens to a body donated to science (hint: it’s not quite what you imagine). You’ll also learn about the science behind cremation, decay, and get an inside look at the forensic workings of a body farm. You wouldn’t think such topics could be so delightfully entertaining, but Roach has… show more.

In Roach’s macabre yet delightful book, we learn about the usefulness of the human meat sack after its typical expiration date. It’s heartening to think that we can keep contributing to society even postmortem and to learn about the many strides science has taken due to body donation. This read is certified gross, funny, enlightening, and weird. 

A look at what Roach calls the ‘curious lives of human cadavers’; the way they are used for teaching and research and other purposes that are not so easily explained. A mix of historical uses for human remains along with modern-day uses that you were maybe not aware of. Even once you die you can carry on working.

Full disclosure: this is non-fiction, so there isn’t anything supernatural about it. But when it comes to dark comedy and death, Stiff has it in spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. Plus it was instrumental in helping me to research what happens to the human body when it starts to decompose, which I incorporated into Breathers. So I had to include it here. I’ll go out on a limb and say this is one of the funniest books about death you’ll ever read. Also one of the most disgusting and educational. From a body farm dedicated to the study of… show more.