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Down Among the Dead Men: A Year in the Life of a Mortuary Technician
Michelle Williams is young and attractive, with close family ties, a busy social life . . . and an unusual occupation. When she impulsively applies to be a mortuary technician and is offered the position, she has no idea that her decision to accept will be one of the most momentous of her life. �What I didn’t realize then,” she writes, �was that I was about to start one of...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
August 17th 2010
by Soft Skull Press
(first published June 15th 2010)
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The parts dealing with the mortuary career were so interesting, but the book suffered from a lack of introspective depth. Williams described her actual work with verve, but the intellectual and emotional insights, or even just reflections, were few and far between. The book was frustratingly shallow.
And some of those few insights that were there just rubbed me the wrong way. In a throw-away sentence, Williams mused about whether family members were embarrassed that a fat relative's body required...more
And some of those few insights that were there just rubbed me the wrong way. In a throw-away sentence, Williams mused about whether family members were embarrassed that a fat relative's body required...more
I am endlessly fascinated by jobs I would never, ever want under any circumstances. Michelle applies for a job as a mortuary technician almost on a whim, and ends up literally cutting up and eviscerating dead bodies, and finding she is actually rather good at it. This isn't the best written book in the world, and I admit I sometimes became a little impatient with how immature the author seems in some places, but the subject matter keeps you reading. It's also set in England so I kept imagining t...more
Fascinating topic. I think the book would've made an execellent set of short stories. The author has several chapters on individual cases or doctors which are good reads on their own. The story lacks enough overarching themes to be in it's current novel/memoir set up. Often stories or people would be written about in one or two chapters, then never heard from again.
The cases are where the strengh of this book lies. The author covers car accident victims, victims of neglect, gunshot wounds, and d...more
The cases are where the strengh of this book lies. The author covers car accident victims, victims of neglect, gunshot wounds, and d...more
The next book I had in my list of occupation-related memoirs was this, a look at life in the mortuary of a hospital. At first glance, you’d consider this a morbid book to want to get into, but it’s written so well – heartfelt, honest, and firmly with the view that this is a job that needs to be done and it needs to be done by someone who cares.
There are some graphic scenes involved, and it can get a bit grizzly in places – particularly as I do most of my reading over a lunch hour – but those dar...more
There are some graphic scenes involved, and it can get a bit grizzly in places – particularly as I do most of my reading over a lunch hour – but those dar...more
In terms of technical writing, there is a reason the author works with the dead and not with a book. She does not have a way with words, she does not have the ability to tell a story in a linear fashion, she is not able to introduce characters properly (for example, one pathologist is discussed twice before being introduced to the reader). She starts off thoughts and details without expanding on certain ones, but adds needless detail when it is unnecessary (eg: "I was drinking a diet coke (witho...more
A memoir of a 30 year old woman's first year working in a Gloucestershire, England mortuary. I got this book on my kindle knowing nothing but the title so I didn't realize it was a British book which is not a bad thing but it did mean the book wasn't quite about what I thought it would be. Apparently what they call a mortuary in England we call a morgue, so this is set in a hospital morgue not a funeral home. I learned there are quite a few differences in the ways we handle our dead. What they...more
I wanted to love this book and as I started reading it I did. How fascinating to read about a young woman learning about life as a Mortuary technician.
However, what with her pretty dull social life --going to the bar, dinner with family, hanging out with her boyfriend and dogs (probably the publisher said--you've got to put some more stuff in here and not just talk about all your experiences with the dead!) I started skimming to get back to her job. The nitty gritty of autopsies, prepping bodie...more
However, what with her pretty dull social life --going to the bar, dinner with family, hanging out with her boyfriend and dogs (probably the publisher said--you've got to put some more stuff in here and not just talk about all your experiences with the dead!) I started skimming to get back to her job. The nitty gritty of autopsies, prepping bodie...more
As the author says near the end of this book death isn't really a part of our lives anymore even though it's the one guarantee we all will go through, we'll all lose loved ones and we'll all die ourselves one day.
Talking about death is almost a taboo in society, yet if death was made a bigger part of life from a younger age it would only help people to cope with it. I would hate to think of my parents dying alone in a sterile hospital bed with only busy nurses (I'm not saying they don't care me...more
Talking about death is almost a taboo in society, yet if death was made a bigger part of life from a younger age it would only help people to cope with it. I would hate to think of my parents dying alone in a sterile hospital bed with only busy nurses (I'm not saying they don't care me...more
Michelle Williams takes the reader into the mortuary, where she ended up working by fluke, after becoming bored with her previous position. This memoir is funny, sad, witty, graphic, and entertaining. The chapters are very short, and are often more like short stories: each details a specific body the mortuary receives, the post-mortem (PM), and how she is affected by the death. Williams also makes clear that her relationships at the morgue with her supervisors and long-time technicians, Clive an...more
A fascinating subject & a pretty interesting story, although there was too much about the author and I took a star off for that. I didn't want to know nearly as much as she told me about her personal life, pub crawls, or even her dogs. I like dogs & find them interesting, but they weren't germane to this story.
She's British and I hadn't realized that. It didn't make a lot of difference, but does make me wonder how our system differs from theirs. I certainly have a different view of a pat...more
She's British and I hadn't realized that. It didn't make a lot of difference, but does make me wonder how our system differs from theirs. I certainly have a different view of a pat...more
Ever wondered what Morticians are like? How can they do such a morbid job? The unseen part of the hospital. Well if you have (or haven’t) this is an excellent read!
Michelle Williams applies for a job as a Mortuary Technician and to her surprise is taken on. She takes us through the beginning of her work, learning the ropes and hearing stories from the two other Mortuary Technicians and the pathologists who come in all shapes, sizes and personalities!
This is a journey with amusing stories and so...more
Michelle Williams applies for a job as a Mortuary Technician and to her surprise is taken on. She takes us through the beginning of her work, learning the ropes and hearing stories from the two other Mortuary Technicians and the pathologists who come in all shapes, sizes and personalities!
This is a journey with amusing stories and so...more
As other reviewers have said, Williams isn't a great writer, and a steady editorial hand would have made a big difference in the book. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book, and learned a great deal from it. What I found interesting were the contrasts between the British and American ways of dealing with the dead. For example, mortuary technicians in the U.K. seem to have more responsibility for the appearance of the remains after a post-mortem exam than those in the U.S., where reconstruction is the...more
On a whim, a 30 year old woman interviews for a job as a morgue technician and is offered the position. She takes it because it seems like the right sort of job for her, and ends up fascinated with the work. This covers some of the things she saw and dealt with during her first year on the job.
The book is rather interesting but I feel the author spends too much time going off on tangents. Yes, I understand that a writer might want to include a bit of their personal life to round out a book like...more
The book is rather interesting but I feel the author spends too much time going off on tangents. Yes, I understand that a writer might want to include a bit of their personal life to round out a book like...more
As I first started this book I thought like sometimes that i would like always be vommiting or someything but instead I was fasinated by what she had to say in her first year as a mortuary technician. I have not yet finished the book but since ive been reading it I have learned some things and what they do in the field. like for example as i was reading in chapter 9 towards the bottom of page 44 theres this sentence that is really detailed the text says "there," he said pointing with the scalpel...more
If if you've ever been fascinated by the Forensic Files, be prepared to be really surprised, a post mortem is absolutely nothing like they show on the tv. For starters its not even performed by the pathologist, and its very, very gruesome.
I read this book through the night. Not because it was so gripping but because the first chapter plunged me immediately into the gory world of cutting dead people open and putting their innards in bowls and I kept hoping it would kind of chill so I could go to...more
I read this book through the night. Not because it was so gripping but because the first chapter plunged me immediately into the gory world of cutting dead people open and putting their innards in bowls and I kept hoping it would kind of chill so I could go to...more
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Interesting premise, and many of the people brought in had interesting/disgusting stories. I enjoyed learning about a new side of medicine, but I think this book should have been written by a WRITER. A lot of the time I felt like I was reading a fifteen year old's diary. I didn't really care about her home life and felt those passages were stuck in disjointedly. There was no actual character to speak of, even written in the first person. She had no voice and I couldn't honestly tell you who she...more
When this author stuck to the morgue her book was enjoyable. What I wanted to read about was her learning the ropes of her new job. The bodies, the problems, the anxieties etc. However, when she meandered off into talking about her boyfriend, their dogs, and her family's holidays, I got very bored. I also noticed two different typos in the book. Editor! Also if I had to hear this woman say "we worked like beavers" or "he had hands like shovels" again, I was going to scream. I didn't realize when...more
Not a brilliantly written book, while the core is interesting it would have benefited from better editing. Chapters often felt out of place (Halfway through she suddenly starts talking about her first week again) and time felt a little muddled.
On top of that, she tends to devote entire chapters to talking about her family, when that's not really what we want to know. The chapters at the end had a reason to be there, but the one nearer the beginning where she devotes an entire week to describing...more
On top of that, she tends to devote entire chapters to talking about her family, when that's not really what we want to know. The chapters at the end had a reason to be there, but the one nearer the beginning where she devotes an entire week to describing...more
Great book & what a different subject matter. About time somebody wrote about this side of life instead of the usual heroic doctor to the rescue type stuff etc.... A true life account of the job of a mortuary technician, not to everyones taste I will admit but so so realistic. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and although rather simplistic in parts I liked how she interspersed it with accounts of her every day life & how her job interfered with this especially at Christmas. Some of the acc...more
I confess, when I saw this book on the shelf, I was morbidly fascinated. I had loved "Stiff" by Mary Roach, which is a well-written, well-researched and oddly compelling exploration of the what happens to our bodies postmortem. I thought this book might be another such interesting account of how bodies are examined to determine cause of death, and how they are prepared for burial. It's not. The author, Michelle Williams, bored with her work in social services, applies on a lark for a position as...more
The subject matter here was very interesting, but the writing style was elementary. The author would throw in entire chapters which had no relevance to the subject, chapters which would seem out of place anywhere in the book (i.e. the chapter about her family gathering). So, in that way, it read more like a blog or collection of essays than a novel, and lacked continuity.
Overall the book was OK, and it included some great stories, but I would not really recommend it to others as the writing sty...more
Overall the book was OK, and it included some great stories, but I would not really recommend it to others as the writing sty...more
I'm giving this one four stars for holding my attention so well. The author's not a professional writer, nor does she claim to be; I'm fairly picky about writing quality, and was able to deal with the fact that she was relating anecdotes from her early days on the job, not penning an oeuvre. Things do get a tad grisly in places, though my squeamish self managed those okay. I didn't mind details of her personal life, and those of her colleagues, at all - they added to the story as to who would ta...more
For those wanting to take a peek inside the life of a job most of us would not want to do but hold a curiosity of, this autobiography is of a new to the job of a young female hospital mortuary worker in the UK.
I found the book a little bit slow in parts, the writing could have been a bit tighter in some sections, specifically the author's personal life in the earlier part of the book which I didn't find relevant to the story or interesting as it seemed too drawn out.
Overall a good effort, showin...more
I found the book a little bit slow in parts, the writing could have been a bit tighter in some sections, specifically the author's personal life in the earlier part of the book which I didn't find relevant to the story or interesting as it seemed too drawn out.
Overall a good effort, showin...more
Quite a morbid subject, but one sensitively written without being too gory. Michelle gently introduces you into this taboo world with wide eyes and nervousness, but then as she gets used to her job she also demonstrates her respect to the lives lost and to the grieving family members. She also shows just how much a job like that can affect you personally and how dignity and professionalism is key. A little slow in places but a great and gentle way to explore this often overlooked and fascinating...more
I really tried to like this book. I was initially drawn in by the great detail Williams used to describe her job at the morgue and a typical PM procedure. However, after the first few chapters the day to day experiences became very mundane. Also, the chapters about her social life were oddly intertwined within the book which added no real relevance whatsoever. I really had to force myself to read the last few chapters. I think the overall concept of the book is far more appealing than the storie...more
Jan 20, 2012
Lynsey
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
other-non-fiction-general
2.5 stars.
When I started this book, 3 things really stood out. Firstly, the writing is quite poor. Secondly, it is full of inane detail that at times left me scratching my head. Thirdly, the main content was just so incredibly interesting that I kept on reading!
I am glad that I did keep on reading, because it really was fascinating stuff!! It was wonderfully macabre, grim and even very sad at times, but then amusing and delightfully shocking at others.
To be honest I got over the bad writing afte...more
When I started this book, 3 things really stood out. Firstly, the writing is quite poor. Secondly, it is full of inane detail that at times left me scratching my head. Thirdly, the main content was just so incredibly interesting that I kept on reading!
I am glad that I did keep on reading, because it really was fascinating stuff!! It was wonderfully macabre, grim and even very sad at times, but then amusing and delightfully shocking at others.
To be honest I got over the bad writing afte...more
This was one of the first books I downloaded when I got my Kindle and I’ve waited and waited to be in the mood to read it before starting. It’s an unusual read. Not quite science, not quite diary, highly anecdotal and slightly informative.
In parts we see what working in a mortuary entails and there, Down Among the Dead Men can be quite fascinating. However, branching off into personal relationships and events doesn’t quite stay down among the dead men or indeed women. I would only hope Williams...more
In parts we see what working in a mortuary entails and there, Down Among the Dead Men can be quite fascinating. However, branching off into personal relationships and events doesn’t quite stay down among the dead men or indeed women. I would only hope Williams...more
(Not being British myself, I found some of the terms and phrases a bit difficult to understand.)
Even though the events here take place in a British setting, I'm sure it's quite typical of mortuaries in North America as well and is a real eye-opener in the care of the dead. I appreciate that Michelle incorporated home life in her book as it balanced out her work life and just how much time is involved in what she does.
Since mortuary and funeral work is dealing with the dead, it's a story that isn...more
Even though the events here take place in a British setting, I'm sure it's quite typical of mortuaries in North America as well and is a real eye-opener in the care of the dead. I appreciate that Michelle incorporated home life in her book as it balanced out her work life and just how much time is involved in what she does.
Since mortuary and funeral work is dealing with the dead, it's a story that isn...more
I found this book delightful, despite (or perhaps due to?) the less than beautiful descriptions of dead bodies in various stages of decay and abuse. The things we see and read today get so sanitized and “prettied up” that it is truly a treat to be exposed to real, real life—not the made up, doctored and produced crap we are fed on “reality” T.V.
Michelle Williams simply relates the story of her new job as a mortuary technician with Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), giving us a complete de...more
Michelle Williams simply relates the story of her new job as a mortuary technician with Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), giving us a complete de...more
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Michelle was born in Cheltenham in 1973, where she has lived all her life - and continues to do so. She had a solid upbringing and was educated at local state schools.
Michelle started working for the NHS when she was twenty years old, two years as a Health Care Assistant and then eight years as a Senior Health Care Assistant for people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour in Commun...more
More about Michelle Williams...
Michelle started working for the NHS when she was twenty years old, two years as a Health Care Assistant and then eight years as a Senior Health Care Assistant for people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour in Commun...more
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“I have to admit I was annoyed. Not physically annoyed, but inside annoyed. That helpless feeling you have when you know you should not be angry because you have to consider how other people are feeling or accept them for what they are, and that it is not your place to say anything. But annoyed because you have not been considered in the whole picture, you are there and that is that. Apologies begin to mean nothing at that point and frustration takes over.”
—
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Jan 26, 2011 11:48am