Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner

Working Stiff 

Book Review by Charlie F.

Earlier in the 2015-2016 school year, I read the memoir Working Stiff by Judy Melinek. This book is written from the viewpoint of Judy Melinek, who was a Medical Examiner in a Manhattan morgue for two action packed years. She recalls cases of the deceased that stuck out to her in her two years at the morgue. The plot might seem boring to students, but I absolutely loved this book. I enjoyed reading how many different and crazy ways people died, such as falling off a tall New York apartment building trying to fix their satellite dish, to stabbings and overdoses. The beginning was a bit slow but the stories of deaths became more and more interesting as the book went on, so don’t give up on it, keep reading. This books also has various examples of imagery that make the autopsies seem in front of you as you read. I could picture so many scenes by the descriptions in the book.

By far the most interesting part of the book was the autopsies she had to do post 9/11. The morgue she worked in was the one where all dead bodies or body parts went to when they were discovered from the 9/11 site. She had such a hard job during that time period and she had to work many overtime hours. For example, Judy would have to try to put a leg to a body and would have to try to find any personal belongings on people so their loved ones could have closure with the deaths. This is a hard part of the book to read if you’re emotional, but it has amazing stories which are my favorites in the book.

I can honestly say that I did not want to stop reading this book. It’s the perfect book for people who are interested in anatomy, and for those who are interested with 9/11 and how New York and surrounding cities reacted to helping the 9/11 site and cleanup. Judy Melinek has many astonishing and unbelievable stories she tells in her book, Working Stiff, and I can say this book is worth reading. I can promise it’ll be one of the books you want to read over and over again, to relive Judy Melinek’s two crazy years in her life.