All That Remains: A Life in Death

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The programme was even more fascinating than I could have imagined and helped me discover more about both the process of identifying human remains and what kind of person it takes to do it. This book expands on much of what was in that interview, as well as adding more details about her life, work, and the cases in which she's been involved. It's a mish-mash of history, science, memoir, police investigations, cold cases, natural disasters, education and invention...not to mention some handy tips for would be murderers er...writers about procedure. For example, dismembering a body in certain ways cases too much leakage, making it harder to move and there really is a best way to remove a human head. And don't forget about the smell if you try to hide body parts in your cupboard or beneath your driveway (yes, she's seen this). Since the bathtub is well sized for a human body, people usually use it to cut up their inconveniently sized dead so Scene of Crime officers start their search there as a matter of course. Apparently it's hard to cut up/saw through a corpse without scratching the bath surface and it's very difficult to clean all the necessary drainage parts. Sadly, she didn't suggest better alternatives but I have these snippets of advice mentally shelved in case I ever need them. Which I won't, obviously. One might expect [this book] to be a grim read but it absolutely isn't. I found it invigorating!' (Andrew Marr, BBC Radio 4 'Start the Week') Readers who expect a precise in-depth recitation of her work on bodies will be disappointed. She details only the essential science, with edited descriptions of her examinations of bodies. I believe she edits the autopsies because they are of real people with living relatives. Besides, many of us ordinary general readers probably couldn’t handle too much of graphic medical narratives, although she does get into general descriptions of rotting bodies, and of bodies having been torn apart or damaged, and the smells and appearances of a dead body. She mixes quite a lot into her autobiography her feelings and thoughts - perhaps too often and over-the-top, imho. She really wants to put across to readers her concern for the proper respectful handling of the bodies. She never loses sight of the fact that the bodies were people. There are a wide variety of cases offered to the reader in the course of this book. I'd rather people discovered the stories for themselves. However I would just say that the Kosovo chapter was far the hardest to read and made me shed a tear. It might well have been the one with most humour in too. Certainly the Indian Ocean Tsunami and the Kosovo chapters show just how determinedly outspoken the author can be although she appears to be listened too increasingly as well.

This unsentim­ental exploration has at its heart the conviction that we should not fear death but accept it Maybe death is not the demon we fear. She does not need to be lured, brutal, or rude. She can be silent, peaceful, and merciful. Perhaps the answer is that we don't trust her, because we don't choose to get to know her. To take the trouble in the course of our lives to understand her.." I suppose I was less taken with the small sections near the beginning of the book that seemed to be more like a familial memoir or history rather than delivering facts and experiences. Although there was always a reason for them, such as a device to further expand the readers understanding of various biological processes etc., I just wasn’t that taken with them in comparison to the later chapters. I’m (yet again) finding it difficult to organise my thoughts surrounding this book. It’s an intense, sometimes clinical, portrayal of death in a very pragmatic and scientific way. It’s equal parts cold and without feeling in its descriptions of death, yet also simultaneously deeply emotive and moving. I found that at times I had to step away from it, because although fascinating, I found myself becoming too attached to the cases. I’m also deeply in awe of the author’s knowledge, enthusiasm and respect for the subject she teaches.She includes a number of cold cases. Murders that have never been solved. I found this rather unsatisfying. I know her motive was to hopefully shed light on these murders and hopefully bring justice to the murderers and give the victims' families a sense of closure, but they leave the reader hanging, like an unresolved chord at the end of a symphony. Part memoir, part science, part meditation on death, her book is compassionate, surprisingly funny, and it will make you think about death in a new light. Reading this book is like watching your favorite crime series only much more down to earth and more realistic. Just as thrilling, because Sue has experienced a fair share of ghastly situations, but shows you the relevance of her work, and why respectful treatment is important. You are knowledgeable in terms of writing a novel, I really enjoyed it! Well done! ... If you have some great stories like this one, you can publish it on Novel Star, just submit your story to [email protected] or [email protected] Read more

She is an excellent writer, too. If she ever decides to write a literary novel, she won’t need much assistance from an editor or ghost writer! Interestingly, a lot of American and British mystery writers know her or of her, and some of them call her for advice in writing their fictional books of murderous antagonists. Poignant and thoughtprovoking… it is the book’s humanity which will connect with readers. Scottish Daily Mail She begins the book with her medical training in university, what happens in a dissecting lab and how she felt standing before her first body. She also describes her childhood, her family, and the deaths of beloved family members, her first funerals. It took time, but as she became more skillful, her reputation began to grow and she began to be involved in more prestigious and important investigations, such as in gathering evidence of war crimes through forensic examinations of mass graves in war zones.The other aspect of her book that I vehemently disagreed with and, in my opinion, had no place in such a book was her mini-dissertation on why she believes people should be able to decide their own life spans. She uses chilling terms like when someone "no longer has value" "and "doesn't want to be a burden" or really just doesn't want to live anymore. Shouldn't they have the right to decide to end their life legally and safely? Hmmm...legal and safe...where have we heard those terms before? In All That Remains she reveals the many faces of death she has come to know, using key cases to explore how forensic science has developed, and examining what her life and work has taught her.

An engrossing memoir . . . an affecting mix of personal and professional' (Erica Wagner , Financial Times) What I did not like about the books was that she spent too many chapters philosophizing about life and death ("what is life; what is death...what makes a person a person...what constitutes identity et al...") If you want to read a compassionate, beautifully written and honest book about death and what it takes to confront it on a daily basis, looked at from all its angles, fearlessly and without leaving any details out, in my view this book is a perfect start. A bunch of notes on the author's personal life, private meetings with death, career and anthropology. A lot of interesting side stories, personal take on things we all don't really know how to take. A model of how to write about the effect of human evil without losing either objectivity or sensitivity ... Heartening and anything but morbid... Leaves you thinking about what kind of human qualities you value, what kinds of people you actually want to be with. Rowan Williams, New StatesmanI'm not as blown away as many by this book. The accounts of anatomy and what happens after death are fascinating, and it's an interesting light on how to cope with a job that many people would find horrifying, but it's written in a very chatty way as many of these are--as if transcribed from a long talk in the pub rather than written--so a lot depends on whether the reader finds that endearing or otherwise. Generally I don't, The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London being a huge exception. And that's a completely different sort of weird job that needed to be told like a shaggy dog story. Ideal reading if you're a cheerful soul who likes to think about death. And think how it'll brighten your conversation on holiday. The Times Could not finish. I honestly can’t discourage reading any of her work enough. Even basic facts are wrong, and written with such conviction that I can’t believe anything else. The one that bothered me particularly is that she says that the surgeon Henry Gray, the author of Gray’s anatomy, was from Aberdeen. He is from/worked in London. There’s another surgeon named Henry Gray, from Aberdeen, who was also well-known, though mainly for his wound excision during the First World War, some 50 years after the other one died.

Compelling, brave and extremely accessible.. A must for anyone who thinks about the basics of living and dying. And there are jokes as well. Rachel Joyce

For fans of Caitlin Doughty, Mary Roach, Kathy Reichs, and CSI shows, a renowned forensic scientist on death and mortality.