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A review by daniellelouis_
Unnatural Causes by Richard Shepherd
4.0
I was completely blown away at the penmanship of Unnatural Causes, most non-fiction reads, especially those of a medical nature tend to be difficult to follow, as well as throwing in medical jargon without any explanation of what it means. Unnatural Causes is not like that at all, it reads as though it is a storyline, which it basically is I suppose. Dr Richard Shepherd has given us not only an insight into his professional life, but also a glimpse into his personal life - we mould a character that is a father, son, husband and forensic pathologist. We've been given a piece of the man behind the mask, for that reason I was able to fully embrace the book and emotionally / mentally submerge myself into the 'storyline'.
The beginning of this medical memoir we are met by Dr Shepherd who appears to be having what he believes to be a huge panic attack, a possible repercussion from his job as a forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd, in which he questioned his occupation. This we learn could be the emotional ties to his first case bubbling over the cusp of his unconscious. From this point, we are drawn back to Richard's first case as a forensic pathologist - The Hungerford Massacre - from this first (hugely noted) case it descripts how far along forensic pathology has developed from having to wait for a computer to 'warm up' for an individual to type notes dictated by the pathologist, whereas contemporary practice would be a microphone, where the FP would type notes after carrying out the post-mortem(s).
As I've said, I had to keep telling myself that Unnatural Causes was of a non-fictional genre, it was rammed full of chilling details that at times you couldn't believe were true, the amount of information included was astronomical. Dr Richard Shepherd would talk about a case that he would present in court, such as the a case of SIDs that he was forensic pathologist for, when that term was fairly new - he linked the uncertainty of those types of cases to the hugely famous one of Sally Clark and the death of her two sons. This enables the reader to absorb the information by linking cases, visualising the more information and therefore understanding the points at hand.
The empathy that Dr Shepherd literates is both heart-breaking and admirable, you can see that forensic pathology isn't just a job for him but rather a calling. He believes that it is his job to provide the truth of what happened to the individuals who have died, whether lawfully or not. Only he can provide the truth; he speaks for them. They are not only body parts to him, they are someone's father, mother, son, daughter, sister etc. this read humanises the dead.
A number of people are afraid what happens to their body immediately after death, they see pathologists as hackers of the body - especially if they are carrying out a post - mortem on a loved one. Unnatural Causes not only delves into the details of a forensic autopsy, but also sheds some light on the use of a medical / clinical autopsy. For example, not only is an autopsy used as a tool to determine the cause of death, but also if the individual was on some form of treatment such as chemotherapy, it can be a learning tool concerning how the treatments affects on the human body, therefore helps to develop medicine.
This read isn't for the faint hearted, you will learn about cases that you didn't even know would exist without this read. One of the facts that I think will stick with me due to pure shock of reading it concerns babies! Apparently newborn babies are more like to mummify than purify due to them being relatively sterile *shivers*. Pathologists are also relied upon for safeguarding information, for example if a child dies within a family in suspicious circumstances, will any further children be at risk. Not all superheroes wear capes.
I could keep writing amazing things about this book! Overall, Unnatural Causes by Dr Richard Shepherd is a gripping non-fiction / medical memoir that will keep you compulsively turning the pages. Although it's packed to the brim with information it's not over complicated, it's quite layman's without being patronising or boring. An absolute excellent read! Superb!
The beginning of this medical memoir we are met by Dr Shepherd who appears to be having what he believes to be a huge panic attack, a possible repercussion from his job as a forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd, in which he questioned his occupation. This we learn could be the emotional ties to his first case bubbling over the cusp of his unconscious. From this point, we are drawn back to Richard's first case as a forensic pathologist - The Hungerford Massacre - from this first (hugely noted) case it descripts how far along forensic pathology has developed from having to wait for a computer to 'warm up' for an individual to type notes dictated by the pathologist, whereas contemporary practice would be a microphone, where the FP would type notes after carrying out the post-mortem(s).
As I've said, I had to keep telling myself that Unnatural Causes was of a non-fictional genre, it was rammed full of chilling details that at times you couldn't believe were true, the amount of information included was astronomical. Dr Richard Shepherd would talk about a case that he would present in court, such as the a case of SIDs that he was forensic pathologist for, when that term was fairly new - he linked the uncertainty of those types of cases to the hugely famous one of Sally Clark and the death of her two sons. This enables the reader to absorb the information by linking cases, visualising the more information and therefore understanding the points at hand.
The empathy that Dr Shepherd literates is both heart-breaking and admirable, you can see that forensic pathology isn't just a job for him but rather a calling. He believes that it is his job to provide the truth of what happened to the individuals who have died, whether lawfully or not. Only he can provide the truth; he speaks for them. They are not only body parts to him, they are someone's father, mother, son, daughter, sister etc. this read humanises the dead.
A number of people are afraid what happens to their body immediately after death, they see pathologists as hackers of the body - especially if they are carrying out a post - mortem on a loved one. Unnatural Causes not only delves into the details of a forensic autopsy, but also sheds some light on the use of a medical / clinical autopsy. For example, not only is an autopsy used as a tool to determine the cause of death, but also if the individual was on some form of treatment such as chemotherapy, it can be a learning tool concerning how the treatments affects on the human body, therefore helps to develop medicine.
This read isn't for the faint hearted, you will learn about cases that you didn't even know would exist without this read. One of the facts that I think will stick with me due to pure shock of reading it concerns babies! Apparently newborn babies are more like to mummify than purify due to them being relatively sterile *shivers*. Pathologists are also relied upon for safeguarding information, for example if a child dies within a family in suspicious circumstances, will any further children be at risk. Not all superheroes wear capes.
I could keep writing amazing things about this book! Overall, Unnatural Causes by Dr Richard Shepherd is a gripping non-fiction / medical memoir that will keep you compulsively turning the pages. Although it's packed to the brim with information it's not over complicated, it's quite layman's without being patronising or boring. An absolute excellent read! Superb!