Christine Montross was a nervous first-year medical student, standing outside the anatomy lab, preparing herself for what was to come. Entering a room with stainless steel tables topped by corpses in body bags is shocking no matter how long you've prepared yourself, but a strange thing happened when Montross met her cadaver. Instead of being disgusted by her, she was utterly intrigued--intrigued by the person the woman once was, humbled by the sacrifice she had made in donating her body to science, and fascinated by the strange, unsettling beauty of the human form. They called her Eve. This is the story of Montross and Eve and the surprising relationship that grew between them. Montross's experience with Eve moved her to learn more about the history of cadavers and the study of anatomy. Her disturbing, often entertaining anecdotes enrich this exquisitely crafted memoir, endowing an eerie beauty to the world of a doctor-in-training. Body of Workis a mesmerizing, rarely seen glimpse into the day-to-day life of a medical student--an unforgettable examination of the mysteries of the human body and a remarkable look at our relationship with both the living and the dead. How lucky we are that a poet decided to become a physician. . . . Montross is a master of detail. --Katrina Firlik, M.D., neurosurgeon and author of Another Day in the Frontal Lobe Christine Montross, M.D., is a resident in psychiatry at Brown University. She received her masters of fine arts in poetry from the University of Michigan and has had several poems published. While compiling Body of Work, she traveled to anatomical theaters, sought out holy relics, and dissected three arms, a leg, and an entire human body. Actor and voice-over artist Renée Raudman has performed on film, television, radio, and stage. Renée's recent audiobooks include A Weekend to Change Your Lifeby Joan Anderson, an AudioFileEarphones Award winner, and The Loved Dogby Tamar Geller. Excerpted from Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab by Christine Montross All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
