Breathe To Read

Breathe To Read

Friday, January 29, 2016

2016 Challenge - Book 12, Stiff

Today I am going to review

Stiff - The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers



This was under the category:  Non-Fiction Book about Science

This is a non-fiction book about different avenues cadavers can take after a person dies.  The author explores bodies donated for science, bodies cremated, bodies used to test car crash survival, bodies in religion, bodies whose organs are donated for transplants, and more.  She gives a good history of how many of the post-life practices began and how far we have come.

This was a great book.  Yes, I am a nurse and the human body is completely fascinating to me, but I think a non-medical person would enjoy this just as much.  Did it have a few cringe worthy paragraphs?  Of course it did - it is about cadavers.  But overall, it was well written and the author did her homework.  I would have never thought about donating my body to science before this book, but now I see how much there is to gain with that option.

Although, I don't want to be a crash test dummy.  And that is a choice.

It is amazing what you can learn from a body after a person dies.  We would not be as far as we are in organ transplantation as we are now if someone didn't donate their body for doctor's to learn.  We would not know what happens to a body after the brain dies if we didn't have people who permitted their brains to be studied postmortem.  If what they learn saves my life or a life of my loved ones, then those cadavers are my heroes.

Check this book out.  It really was a great learning experience.

Stars:  4 1/2




















1 comment:

  1. I read this one a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I love science and am not at all squeamish, though, so it was right up my alley.

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