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ellereadsalottt's review against another edition
4.0
This was so interesting! I absolutely loved this book. The only reason it lost half a star for me was the layout, which I personally thought could be more structured. Can’t wait to dive into her next book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars!
callisto_ursus's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
oceandream's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, what a journey Professor Sue Black took me on.
She even had me researching how to donate my own body to science.
She has worked in war torn Kosovo, the tsunami in Thailand, she discusses historical cases of human remains which were found such as a woman with triplets and she discusses death with honesty and respect.
I found this really interesting.
She even had me researching how to donate my own body to science.
She has worked in war torn Kosovo, the tsunami in Thailand, she discusses historical cases of human remains which were found such as a woman with triplets and she discusses death with honesty and respect.
I found this really interesting.
caitibeth's review against another edition
4.0
A meandering sort of memoir, about bones and war atrocities and the sanctity of a medical student's anatomy year and missing persons and the female personification of Death, all wrapped in and up and through the author's life and work.
For me it was a bit overwritten, especially the musing about Death, but overall it was an interesting read.
For me it was a bit overwritten, especially the musing about Death, but overall it was an interesting read.
kassiani's review against another edition
Forensic anthropology as investigating the life lived as it left its traces on the physical body, reinstating identity, rekindling our instincts to care and protect, our empathetic responses against the anonymity of remains.
The body as Theseus’s ship due to constant cell renewal - only four constants in our cells :
"There are at least four cell types in our bodies that are never replaced and which can live to be as old as we are – technically even longer, in the case of those formed before we are born. Perhaps these cells might be cited as the unlikely seat of our corporeal biological constancy. The four permanent cell types are the neurons in our nervous system, a tiny little area of bone at the base of our skull called the otic capsule, the enamel in our teeth and the lenses in our eyes. Teeth and lenses are only semi-permanent as they can be removed and substituted by modern dentistry or surgery respectively without harming the host. The other two are immovable and therefore truly permanent, remaining locked in our bodies as irrefutable evidence of our biological identity from before our birth until after our death."
On coping and compartementalizing horrors:
"The actor and advocate of communicating science Alan Alda says that sometimes the greatest things happen at thresholds, and it is by consciously stepping across a threshold envisioned in my mind that I move from one world into another. There are probably several very self-contained compartments lurking in there – I think of them as rooms – and I know them all so well that I automatically choose the one that best suits the job at hand that day"
The body as Theseus’s ship due to constant cell renewal - only four constants in our cells :
"There are at least four cell types in our bodies that are never replaced and which can live to be as old as we are – technically even longer, in the case of those formed before we are born. Perhaps these cells might be cited as the unlikely seat of our corporeal biological constancy. The four permanent cell types are the neurons in our nervous system, a tiny little area of bone at the base of our skull called the otic capsule, the enamel in our teeth and the lenses in our eyes. Teeth and lenses are only semi-permanent as they can be removed and substituted by modern dentistry or surgery respectively without harming the host. The other two are immovable and therefore truly permanent, remaining locked in our bodies as irrefutable evidence of our biological identity from before our birth until after our death."
On coping and compartementalizing horrors:
"The actor and advocate of communicating science Alan Alda says that sometimes the greatest things happen at thresholds, and it is by consciously stepping across a threshold envisioned in my mind that I move from one world into another. There are probably several very self-contained compartments lurking in there – I think of them as rooms – and I know them all so well that I automatically choose the one that best suits the job at hand that day"