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tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
funny
informative
slow-paced
Yet another nonfiction book I should've either read as soon as I put it on my tbr or deleted when I couldn't get to it right away. While some parts were laugh-out-loud funny, some of Stiff's humor has aged poorly. (And some of it I just plain didn't find funny: Roach knows how to set up the joke, but she doesn't always land the punchline.) Also, her 2021 edition epilogue did little to address the ways options for human remains have changed, even just in the US, since the book was first published in 2003.
Most alarming to me, as a death educator, is Roach's insistence that all decisions about a person's remains should be left to the survivors, rather than the deceased. This privileged view ignoresfollowing:
Most alarming to me, as a death educator, is Roach's insistence that all decisions about a person's remains should be left to the survivors, rather than the deceased. This privileged view ignoresfollowing:
- Emotion. When a loved one has just died is a terrible time to make a lot of decisions. Even if you absolutely do not care what happens to your body after you die, even if you genuinely believe it should all be up to your survivors, you need to talk to them about it now (maybe especially if). Tell them that you have no advice for them, and that they need to be thinking about it now so they don't end up making choices they'll regret in those frantic days after your death. The vast majority of people are grateful to know what you would want for yourself. Most of us want to treat our loved ones' remains in ways that honor how that loved one lived and what they wanted for their body in death. Which brings me to...
- Identity. As a nonbinary Pagan, the thought of having no say over what happens to my body after I die is chilling. If my spouse is in charge of my disposition, no worries. If they're unavailable for some reason and it falls to my mom, I will be given a Presbyterian funeral where I will be misgendered and deadnamed throughout. I will be embalmed and buried in a metal coffin, in a vault, possibly in another state. Yeah, I'll be dead and won't know or care what's happening to my remains. But research has started to show that death rituals that erase aspects a person's lived identity, especially aspects that aren't valued by mainstream society, harms people who share that identity. If Mom needs to grieve in a way that erases my religious and gender identities, she can do that on her own time. But it shouldn't be the main funeral my trans and Pagan beloveds have to sit through, and it shouldn't be allowed to carry into other public remembrances of me (obituary, etc.) and certainly not into my disposition. There's a world of difference between "I won't make my husband fulfil my wishes for body donation, because he's squeamish" (although, for realsies, it's not like he would have to dissect her corpse himself) and "we should leave all disposition decisions up to the survivors and that never ends poorly." The fact that Roach seems to neither see nor care about that distinction soured the end of the book for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Animal death, Car accident, and Medical content
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Death of parent, Abortion, Suicide attempt, War, and Suicide
Minor: Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Police brutality
plane crash, saneismchristynhoover's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Not for the squeamish!! At one point I thought I might not finish it, it was so ghoulish at many places. But the author's dry humor helped me see it through to the final chapter where she confesses what she has chosen for her OWN cadaver.
Overall it was often thoughtful, often humorously irreverent, always a treasure trove for the curious.
Overall it was often thoughtful, often humorously irreverent, always a treasure trove for the curious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Gore, Murder, and Cannibalism
It really gets into the nitty-gritty about the myriad possible uses and dispositions of dead humans. As the author did research for the book, she came up with lines of inquiry that never would have occurred to me! Being a hale 69 year old woman reading this book, I found it distressing at times and ghoulish. But I'd rather age with my eyes open and to have considered the many points she makes than to have remained ignorant about this subject.applesaucecreachur's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
slow-paced
3.0
I appreciate this book for what it is: A professional journalist writing a history of corpses, while herself being an amateur on the subject. While much of the contemporary content is now out of date, I still walk away from the book with a few key takeaways.
1. Our corpses are not "us". In life, they were our vessels. Now, they are shells.
2. That said, as a future medical care provider and future surviving loved one, the remains of those departed are worthy of respect and care.
3. There's been a lot of thought and disagreement put into how we ought to treat corpses. Do we bury them? Burn them? Dissolve them? Compost? Scatter? Stick in an anatomy lab? Put on display? Pulverize in controlled car crash scenarios? Eat????
4. While sometimes self-aware, this book was a bit orientalizing and generally racist. (The bit about the Spanish American War and the indigenous soldiers? Come on now.)
This book was moderately informative and mildly entertaining. Now I gotta go figure out what to do with my husk when I'm done with it.
1. Our corpses are not "us". In life, they were our vessels. Now, they are shells.
2. That said, as a future medical care provider and future surviving loved one, the remains of those departed are worthy of respect and care.
3. There's been a lot of thought and disagreement put into how we ought to treat corpses. Do we bury them? Burn them? Dissolve them? Compost? Scatter? Stick in an anatomy lab? Put on display? Pulverize in controlled car crash scenarios? Eat????
4. While sometimes self-aware, this book was a bit orientalizing and generally racist. (The bit about the Spanish American War and the indigenous soldiers? Come on now.)
This book was moderately informative and mildly entertaining. Now I gotta go figure out what to do with my husk when I'm done with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Ableism, and Gun violence
Minor: Abortion
semeyers's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
4.25
I liked this book so much more than I had anticipated! Mary Roach is an amazing author who describes tough things in a succinct, informative, and light way. Yes, there are a lot of graphic descriptions of gore in this book and it is not recommended for those with a weak stomach (I have a strong stomach and found I couldn't eat while listening to this book even), but I came out of it less afraid of death and less afraid of cadavers as well.
The book, written in 2003, is now slightly out of datepromession, for example, is now legal and used as a form of burial in three countries. "Aquamation" has gained popularity,etc. , but still a worthwhile read.
The book, written in 2003, is now slightly out of date
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Medical content
Moderate: Cannibalism, Gun violence, and Death of parent
jhbandcats's review
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Stiff is the first book I read of Mary Roach's, and I was an immediate fan. I first read it more than fifteen years ago and have continued to recommend it to people since. She takes a taboo topic for her book and makes it approachable, funny, and educational.
Dead bodies have all sorts of potential futures. At a funeral home they can be embalmed, cremated, or dissolved via aquamation. Donated to science, they can work in med school anatomy labs, be subjected to crashes to analyze car and airplane safety, decompose naturally to assist forensic scientists in determining time of death, or be used in surgery continuing education classes.
Roach details the history of dead bodies, including stories on Burke and Hare's murder and grave robbery scheme and the first anatomy classes. She talks about failed whole head transplant operations; body composting; and bullet, bomb, and landmine studies to improve body armor. Her curiosity drives her to ask unexpected and occasionally inappropriate questions.
I think Mary Roach is a fabulous author. I'm glad I reread this fascinating book. She has taught me so much that I likely couldn't learn elsewhere. I can't recommend this highly enough.
Dead bodies have all sorts of potential futures. At a funeral home they can be embalmed, cremated, or dissolved via aquamation. Donated to science, they can work in med school anatomy labs, be subjected to crashes to analyze car and airplane safety, decompose naturally to assist forensic scientists in determining time of death, or be used in surgery continuing education classes.
Roach details the history of dead bodies, including stories on Burke and Hare's murder and grave robbery scheme and the first anatomy classes. She talks about failed whole head transplant operations; body composting; and bullet, bomb, and landmine studies to improve body armor. Her curiosity drives her to ask unexpected and occasionally inappropriate questions.
I think Mary Roach is a fabulous author. I'm glad I reread this fascinating book. She has taught me so much that I likely couldn't learn elsewhere. I can't recommend this highly enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Excrement, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Animal death, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Terminal illness, and Violence
bxtskr's review
dark
funny
informative
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Body horror, Blood, Car accident, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, and Suicide attempt
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