The Chick and the Dead: Life and Death Behind Mortuary Doors

I was very excited about this book, and even pre-ordered it. This is exactly my kind of thing, and I am very interested in the Death Positive movement. I love the pathologists I follow on Instagram, got a trip to the Mütter for Christmas, and am a big Caitlin Doughty fan. I was so disappointed with this book that I unfollowed the author on Facebook and Instagram.The positives are that the actual autopsy and anatomy subject matter are interesting, and I learned new things. If you have a weak stomach, this book probably isn't for you. It's very interesting to be walked through an autopsy from start to finish, and to have the inconsistencies pointed out as they're represented in the media.I found the negatives to be many. The book is not just a non-fiction exploration of death and mortuaries, it's also the author's memoir. Most books of this type do this expertly and elegantly, weaving the author's experience in with the subject matter (Smoke Gets in Your Eyes is a great example). I found the memoir aspect of this book clumsy and eye roll-inducing. For example, the author at one point talks about hearts and goes on a cringey philosophical tangent about life, seemingly while she is meant to be weighing the organ during an autopsy. She even says that she was staring into space while doing this and had to be snapped out of it. This passage seemed so deliberate and inauthentic. In many places, the language is contrived and clumsy in this way. Another example is that the author shares every detail of her workout routine, including how long it was, what she did, and how she showered afterward. While I understand that this is part of her experience, most memoir authors need to edit themselves, because a reader doesn't want to read every aspect of the author's day, especially if it doesn't directly pertain to the subject matter.Another thing you will learn in this book is that the author is petite and blonde. She takes a lot of pleasure in not being the expected pathology technician, and she repeats this many times. This, I think, is part of the reason for the detailed accounts of her workouts. If you haven't forgotten by now, she is petite and blonde (oh, but now she is a redhead, an experience she likens to washing off a body because of the same presence of pink foam - really!). I found the author's self-focus grating several times.Additionally, as with the pink foam example above, the writing is just not very good. The book is organized into chapters, but each chapter jumps around without theme. Eventually, she'll come back to the main thread, but the result is an unfocused, meandering narrative.My biggest disappointment and complaint about this book, and the reason for unfollowing the author, is the blatantly disrespectful body shaming. It's very clear that the author takes a lot of pride in her petite frame and her workout routine. But the extent she goes to make her disapproval and personal fear of fat clear is an aspect I found abhorrent. A tame example is that she comments that some colleagues teased her for gaining weight. This sent her into a spiral of self-reflection she felt necessary to include in the book. Including that these comments induced her to double her workout routine (of course, because gaining weight when you're already healthy and fit would be tragic). But don't worry, readers, it was just being on the pill! Obviously, this ties into the self-editing issue above, but also gives insight into her mentality on weight. The most egregious and objectionable example, however, was one where she shared how she made a pact with her colleague to do the bariatric (obese) cases while she would take the decomps. Why are obese people more unappealing to her than bloat, maggots, and purge? Because she is so tiny and petite (her colleagues even call her "Tiny," just to underscore the point), that she fears opening up an obese body cavity and tumbling right in, with only her teeny, precious legs poking out and waving. At this point, I almost couldn't finish. I couldn't believe that someone who works on all kinds of people and is there for the dead to ensure they're treated respectfully, could be so disrespectful and mean. In my experience, many folks in this industry are kind, accepting, and open-minded, so this came as a shock.I had high hopes for this book, but only the educational details kept me from giving it one star.

I thought the book was ok, I guess I was expecting it to be something else. First, its set in the United kingdom which I didn't care for as it's not as similar to the US death practices. I felt like the book jumped randomly to different places in her life without making much sense. I would have liked more about the cases and less about her (sounds mean but like I said I was expecting this to be about the cases she worked on.) I also feel like at some points she over explains things that are pretty common sense. At the end she finally gets to her current job and just ends when I would have liked to read more about the specimens she has. (she listed one about chimney boys) Overall, the book isn't terrible just not what I thought I was getting or worth its price.

I'm in mortuary school so leaning the differences on how England takes care of their dead. See: the differences in training and practicing as well as legislation and licensing differences.Entertaining read overall.

I love this book from start to finish!

As expected

Gift for my friend as she like these type of this. She reports loving this book!!

Loved it, kept me interested all the way through.

If you have a little bit of morbid curiosity (and most of us do) then this book is for you. I was an Emergency Medical Technician long ago and handled a few deceased myself. The book is full of information and experiences that you always wondered about but were afraid to ask. And it is presented in a most respectful way. The only thing I might recommend is since the author is from the UK and describes the UK "system" maybe some equivalent US definitions might be added in parentheses (such as the difference uses of the term "mortuary" in each country). I hope Ms. Valentine writes another book on a subject most of us have wondered about but are afraid to admit.