Tuesday Teaser/Opening ~ Working Stiff


I'll admit it. I have odd reading tastes. This was on my wishlist, so when I found Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner by Judy Melinek, M.D. and T.J. Mitchell at the library (in ebook format), I glommed onto it. If you like the scientific aspect of the TV show Bones, you may well enjoy this.

Blurb:
The fearless memoir of a young forensic pathologist’s “rookie season” as a NYC medical examiner, and the cases—hair-raising and heartbreaking and impossibly complex—that shaped her as both a physician and a mother.

Just two months before the September 11 terrorist attacks, Dr. Judy Melinek began her training as a New York City forensic pathologist. With her husband T.J. and their toddler Daniel holding 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.

Lively, action-packed, and loaded with mordant wit, Working Stiff offers a firsthand account of daily life in 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 shows like CSI and Law & Order to reveal the secret story of the real morgue.


Opening:
"Remember: This can only end badly." That's what my husband says anytime I start a story. He's right.

Teaser:
Quite a number of people have two or three accessory spleens, like bright red mushrooms. Others have no spleen at all. Sometimes patients who had spleens removed due to trauma will have sprouted lots of little accessory spleens all over the abdominal cavity. The spleen is a weird organ.

Would you read this?





Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! To see what others are sharing on the Teaser Tuesdays, check the comments at: http://adailyrhythm.com/






Share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you are reading. Here's the link: Bibliophile By The Sea

12 comments:

  1. Oh yes, I'd love this one Suzie, and it's on my TBR list as well. enjoy

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  2. I have read a couple of reviews of this book and thought it sounded interesting. So, yes, I'd read on. Even with spleens. LOL

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  3. I never heard of 'accessory spleens'. Interesting. Yes, I'd probably enjoy this one.
    Today I'm featuring The Boston Girl by Anita Diamond.

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  4. I hadn't known that about the spleen. How interesting! I like books like this--find them fascinating. I don't often read nonfiction, however, although I usually enjoy it when I do.

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  5. I do love that opening and this does sound like a book I'd enjoy - my niece has accessory spleens btw.

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  6. Forensic pathologists get me every time... would love to read this one!

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  7. I like the opening, but forensics isn't really my genre. I hope its enjoyable for you.

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  8. This one looks really interesting. I'd keep reading!

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  9. I'm interested. I'd keep reading.

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  10. This one sounds fascinating, especially the part about sprouting accessory spleens. Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

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