Stiff - The Curious Life of a Cadaver

Monday was book club - I know, already, it seems like I just went to the last meeting. One of the fun things with this group is that in addition to discussing books, the meetings have turned into a chance to try out various restaurants. Monday we met/ate at Salt Lake Pizza and Pasta Company. As far as the food review, Tim and I shared a pizza and a burger (he came along as my chauffeur). The burger was good, fries were great. The pizza had a really good flavor and crust but an obscene amount of cheese. Mostly I picked off most of my cheese and Tim used it to supplement his slices. If you are considering trying the restaurant, be warned that they only have Pepsi products, no Diet Coke.

Anyway, this is supposed to be a book review, right. I have picked this book up several times in the bookstore, but never ended up buying it so I was excited when it was selected for book group. I am a big fan of non fiction and for me, this book did not disappoint. It was super interesting, well researched, gave me a lot to think about, and, had a bit of humor thrown in to keep the mood from getting heavy.
In a nutshell, the book is about cadavers: "For 2,000 years, cadavers -- some willingly, some unwittingly -- have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem."

I have to tell you up front, if you are squeamish, this might not be the book for you. No photos but the descriptions are quite detailed. I guess I always assumed that if a person donated their body to science, they ended up in a smelly anatomy lab, used exclusively for higher education. Not so my friends. True, all of the cadaver research has a purpose, and often a really noble purpose, but sometimes it is surprising what they go through. For instance, were you aware that they use cadavers in simulated car crashes prior to the crash test dummies. They need to decide what a human body can withstand before they do the testing on impact. Did you know that the medical examiners can often determine the cause of a plane crash before the FAA based on the remains that are recovered. Did you know that when you are embalmed, it only preserves your body for a short time and once you are in the ground, you quickly begin to decompose. And it goes on and on.
Reading the book definitely makes you think about death, specifically what happens to your body after death. One of the women in my book group had previously planned to donate her body to science. After ready the book, she has not changed her plans. She's not even picky about how her parts are used, although if given a choice, she would like to bask in the sun at the "body farm". Another woman determined a great alternative to traditional burial or cremation. A process is in the works where you would be freeze dried then your body broken down and the remains used to cultivate a tree. She hopes that will be a viable option before she dies. Me, I'm sticking with the traditional "seal me up and put me in the ground", but there is a small part of me that would love to be "parted out" and have some additional adventures after death.
Apparently the book gets a little slow at the end but I haven't quite had time to finish it, so for the first 2/3, I would give it an A-.