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  • Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner
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Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Judy Melinek MD (Author), Tanya Eby (Narrator), T. J. Mitchell (Author),
4.6 out of 5 stars 7,167 ratings

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Just two months before the September 11 terrorist attacks, Dr. Judy Melinek began her training as a New York City forensic pathologist. With her husband and their toddler holding down the home front, Judy threw herself into the fascinating world of death investigation-performing autopsies, investigating death scenes, and counseling grieving relatives. Working Stiff chronicles Judy's two years of training, taking listeners behind the police tape of some of the most harrowing deaths in the Big Apple. Lively, action-packed, and loaded with mordant wit, Working Stiff offers a firsthand account of daily life in one of America's most arduous professions. The body never lies - and through the murders, accidents, and suicides that land on her table, Dr. Melinek lays bare the truth behind the glamorized depictions of autopsy work to reveal the secret story of the real morgue.

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  1. Listening Length
    7 hours and 43 minutes
  2. Author
    Judy Melinek MD, see all
  3. Narrator
    Tanya Eby
  4. Audible release date
    Aug. 12 2014
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Tantor Audio
  7. ASIN
    B071ZQXBF5
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
Next slide of product details

Product details

Listening Length 7 hours and 43 minutes
Author Judy Melinek MD, T. J. Mitchell
Narrator Tanya Eby
Audible.ca Release Date August 12 2014
Publisher Tantor Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B071ZQXBF5
鶹 Rank

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
7,167 global ratings

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Top reviews from Canada

  • julie bilodeau
    5.0 out of 5 stars très intéressant
    Reviewed in Canada on February 20, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Très intéressant, comporte un aspect très humain. Je n’avais pas pensé qu’on y aborderait les cas d’autopsies du wall trade center mais j’ai été très contente d’apprendre ce que j’ai lu.
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  • Verlin Isaac
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!
    Reviewed in Canada on September 22, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Judy has an impeccable way of telling a story. Every single chapter was enthralling, and I read this book from cover to cover in a single day - it was just that good!
    One person found this helpful
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  • docrankin
    4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully ghoulish!
    Reviewed in Canada on October 17, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Even as a physician, I'm still amazed that doctors can pursue "anatomical pathology" - aka the people that do the autopsies, regardless of the physical state, or worse for me, the odor, of the deceased.
    This book was well written and informative - and of course very ghoulish.
    The description of how they dealt with 9/11, was written honestly, but clearly with empathy and it shed a light on the gruesome reality of that crime.
    I read it in one sitting!
    3 people found this helpful
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  • 鶹 Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great stories!
    Reviewed in Canada on October 19, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Being fascinated by forensic pathology and having worked for the Medical Examiner here in my city, I really enjoyed this book. The author balances science with the human component and also with humour, something one really needs to work in this field. I so enjoyed this book!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Sara
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
    Reviewed in Canada on July 26, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I really enjoyed this book. It takes a lot for me to want to sit and read a book from cover to cover. It was well written and very informative.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Bailey C
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in Canada on February 7, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Great book. I enjoyed her writing and it was the first book in a long time that I got excited about reading, would read on my lunch break and now I am sad that I've finished it lol.
    One person found this helpful
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  • kasey
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on June 23, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Interesting read.
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  • Fussbudget
    5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, slightly gruesome, fascinating and life lessons.
    Reviewed in Canada on July 28, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Why and how did they die? A career direction change is the best path. This book was fascinating.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • prisrob
    5.0 out of 5 stars Staying Alive Is Mostly Common Sense
    Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    "Staying alive is mostly common sense", Judy Melinek tells her husband, TJ, after he complains that listening to her daily stories of her work as a Forensic Pathologist, will cause him to wear gloves and a mask when he is out in public. Certainly the stories, Judy shares can be gruesome and cause one to wonder how they will die. After all, a pathologist gives you the last physician exam you will ever have.

    Judy Melinek, the author, along with her husband, TJMitchell, gives us the story of her life as a Medical Examiner, or Forensic Pathologist in New York City. Here, she learned at the hands of some of the best pathologists in the world. Judy and TJ met at Harvard where they both graduated. Judy went on to study as a surgeon in a prestigious hospital in Boston. What this experience taught her was that she would be forever tired, and working as a surgeon under these conditions is dangerous to us, her patients. After taking a year off to bring her son into the world, she studied as a pathology resident in California, and then went to the Medical Examiner's office in New York City.

    All of Judy's stories were exhilarating and informative, but the most unbelievable and realistic experience was after the 9/11 disaster. Each body and each body part, no matter how small, had to be examined. Judy relates the organization required and the skill set necessary to get through this trying time. The other point that Judy makes quite well, is that a autopsy is a medical discovery. You need to want to be a detective. One of the most important parts of the job, is communicating with the family. You are delivering the news on how a love one died. Some relatives are disbelieving, some don't want to know the truth. But, your word is the last word. Judy discusses her mentors, and what she learned under their tutelage. The stories are sometimes funny but always filled with the knowledge that comes from someone who truly knows their profession, and is probably one of the best.

    I am a health care professional, so all of the stories describing the autopsy were informative, and brought me back to my anatomy and physiology years. For others, this detail may be too much, but I advise you skip over the parts that may disturb you, and concentrate on the stories. These are stories of the humans who inhabited the bodies that turned up in the Medical Examiner's Office. Dr. Judy Melinek gives us a rare glimpse into this world. I read this book during the Robin William's suicide, and Judy discusses her father's suicide and her reactions, which I found very helpful and filled with a daughter's memories. This book is well written, from Judy and her husband, TJ's perspectives. Memorable.

    Recommended. prisrob 08-15-14
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  • Angel Luis Antonaya
    5.0 out of 5 stars Angel Antonaya
    Reviewed in Spain on September 29, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Me gustó mucho el libro, ya que está escrito de manera muy profesional; se nota el efecto de la colaboración entre la doctora forense y el marido, graduado en lengua y literatura inglesa. Mis felicitaciones a ambos.
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  • Cliente 鶹
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ha ricevuto ottime recensioni su varie riviste del mondo anglofono.
    Reviewed in Italy on August 20, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Un libro molto coinvolgente e pieno di fatti curiosi sull' esperienza professionale di un patologo forense. L'ho divorato in meno di due settimane. Inoltre un ottimo metodo per migliorare il vostro inglese. Consigliato!
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  • A.B.Haagsma
    5.0 out of 5 stars A book that shines a light into a medical field most people forget about
    Reviewed in Brazil on July 30, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    As a pathology resident who's considering going for forensic pathology one day, this book was amazing and made me even more interested in this field of work. In my country, we don't have a very good forensic system and forensic pathology is not even a specialty, so it was really interesting to see how this field work in another country and see how much we have to work to achieve it here.

    Anyone who's interested into forensics or pathology should read Working Stiff, actually, anyone who's interested in the human body. It shows a field of Medicine many people forget that exist and shows it in a simple way, easy and quick to read. I really hope more books like these get written, so people can learn more about this field (I also hope Working Stiff gets translated to Portuguese one day, exactly for this reason: more recognition of the pathology and forensic field. Maybe it'll trigger a change in our system, even if it takes a long time for it to happen).
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  • Anu Sasidharan
    5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS THE REAL DEAL!!
    Reviewed in India on February 5, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Being a Forensic Pathologist myself, or an Autopsy Surgeon working in India; this book was found to be written or drafted in the perfect biblical sense or with the hard core facts of the subject (without any 'masala')

    The chapters are so perfectly designed that even a layman with no background in Forensic Medicine can make out what's happening in the life of such a subject expert, and in here, as to how the author manages her family life amongst all the hassles of the occupational hazards (challenges in subject).

    Being a seasoned reader, I can say for sure that anyone who is interested in our subject can buy this book without second thoughts; and those who are already into this subject by profession or passion must also buy this book without any hesitation.
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