Ella's Reviews > Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner

Although this book provides an interesting look into the experiences of the author's forensic pathology residency, there are a number of aspects on which I would like to comment more critically.

Most importantly, I was very unsettled by Melinek's simplistic conception of suicide and suicidal ideations. She repeatedly and violently asserts that suicide is "selfish". Despite Melinek's own early personal exposure to her father's suicide, she neither addresses the context nor engages with any of the complexity surrounding mental health issues. Claiming so assertively that "suicide is a selfish act" without considering the factors beyond the individual, the larger social institutions, and the failure of these systems further upstream, is, to me, a rather self-serving assessment. Rhetoric is powerful and I worry about the unintended consequences of Melinek's assertions on this subject.

Looking more superficially, I disliked the book's organization. The timeline is established primarily through reference to her second pregnancy and to specific cases. However, the author bounces around considerably during the 2 year period in which the majority of the narrative occurs. This was more of an annoyance then it was seriously disruptive.