Stiff

by Mary Roach

First published 2021

Curious what happens to your body after you die? Stiff takes readers on a bizarre, enlightening tour of the human cadaver's surprising afterlife. From medical schools to body farms, Mary Roach uncovers the strange science of using the dead for experiments, education, and even space exploration. Along the way, she confronts the big questions: How can we honor the dead while using their bodies for our own purposes? And what does it mean to be truly "dead"? Blending morbid humor with scientific rigor, Stiff is an eye-opening, taboo-breaking exploration of the curious fate that awaits us all.

Genres: science, death, medical, non-fiction, history-of-medicine, history-of-science

Vibes: dark, informative, morbid-humor, thought-provoking

Tropes: investigative-journalism, taboo-subject

320 pages · Paperback · W. W. Norton & Company

Content warnings: body-horror, graphic-violence

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