Judy Melinek is a forensic pathologist and an associate clinical professor at UCSF Medical Center. She earned her college degree from Harvard and received her medical degree and pathology residency training at UCLA. Her coauthor and husband T.J. Mitchell graduated with an English degree from Harvard and worked in the film industry before becoming a full-time stay-at-home dad in 2000. They have three children, and have lived in and worked in San Francisco since 2004.
“Far from the magic we see on TV, Working Stiff describes forensic
pathology in the real world. The book is a compelling and absorbing
read.”
*Kathy Reichs, author of the Temperance Brennan "Bones" series*
"Fascinating case studies and a refreshing irreverence toward death
and autopsies make Working Stiff a funny and engrossing read."
*Sandeep Jauhar, author of "Intern: A Doctor's Initiation" and
"Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician"*
“Working Stiff is an engrossing and revealing glimpse into the
making of a medical examiner with a searing insider's view into
working at the New York Medical Examiner's Office during and just
after 9/11. The story of how the author dealt with her father's
suicide during childhood and later had to deal with suicides as
part of her duties is wrenching and compelling."
*Jan Garavaglia, M.D. (Dr. G from the Discovery Channel Series and
author of "How Not to Die"*
"A riveting read, at once compassionate and morbidly
fascinating."
*Todd Harra, author of "Over Our Dead Bodies"*
"Working Stiff is an eye-opening, gripping account of the life of a
forensic pathologist working in New York City. Whether dealing with
routine autopsies, surviving relatives, or the catastrophe of
September 11, Dr. Judy Melinek reveals the dignity of being human
in the face of death."
*Leora Tanenbaum, author of "Taking Back God"*
"In this engrossing tale of how Melinek became a forensic
pathologist, she pulls back the sheet to show readers just what
goes on after someone dies... Armchair detectives and would-be
forensic pathologists will find Melinek’s well-written account to
be inspiring and engaging."
*Publishers Weekly*
"Both chilling and heart-warming at the same time, Judy Melinek's
account explains how empathy and humanity are as important working
with the dead as they are with the living. She strikes the balance
just right in helping us better understand what we most fear, yet
still fear it all the same."
*Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director, PEN America Center*
"Melinek’s enthusiasm for her calling is always apparent, and her
writing is un–self-consciously bouncy, absorbed and mordant (though
not caustic).... A transfixing account of death, from the mundane
to the oddly hair-raising."
*Kirkus Reviews*
Working Stiff is the grossest book you'll ever love. But it is also
so much more than that: Seamlessly fusing memoir, science
journalism, riveting whodunit mysteries, and light humor about a
dark topic, Working Stiff is a relentlessly fascinating and
informative book from the first page to the last. Judy
Melinek--whether she's re-enacting assaults in a courtroom while
heavily pregnant, or fighting with lazy homicide detectives, or
solving amazing forensic mysteries through the ghastly things she
does with her corpses--is an unfailingly charming and even
inspiring guide to the world of medical examiners. A remarkable
achievement by Mitchell and Melinek.
*Scott Stossel, editor of The Atlantic magazine, and author of the
New York Times Bestseller "My Age of Anxiety"*
"Spellbinding. . . . Melinek is movingly empathetic toward the
families of victims. . . . An unforgettable story."
*Booklist starred review*
"Working Stiff is a page-turning, engrossing book that reveals a
hidden world and shows that the work of understanding death is
actually a labor of life.”
*Sciencethrillers.com*
"Melinek chronicles her time at the city’s Office of the Chief
Medical Examiner — and it’s nothing like what you see on
television."
*New York Post*
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