Christine Montross

As a student on the verge of starting medical school, I picked up this book in an attempt to face up to the very part of my looming experience that makes me most uncomfortable. I had hoped that this book would make me somehow more comfortable with the idea of human anatomy lab, less nervous about the whole thing.

And while I perhaps do feel a little bit better, parts of the story were also deeply unsettling for me. Much of the book validated the exact things that I had imagined would be show more challenging and uncomfortable as the things that would be. At least, I suppose, I am nervous about the right things.

That being said, this is a wonderful book, both for medical students, and for people with a more general interest. Montross does an excellent job of putting words to the emotional challenges of learning the art and science of medicine and of anatomy. The raw honesty that colors some of her most challenging moments is perfectly offset by her well-researched history of the study of anatomy. Thus the writing finds a rare balance between the moments that are emotionally challenging and those that give you a break to process.

I don't think that the study of human anatomy is a subject that is ever going to be comfortable for a lot of people, but Montross handles it well. This is a great book for anyone who has an interest in the subject. show less

This is one of those books I started reading just because I have it, not knowing what I was getting into, not expecting much. But, akin to The Shack, I was very pleasantly surprised and massively enjoyed this book. It really tells a story, enough so that you almost feel as if you are there, experiencing the same experiences, feeling the same feelings. But at the same time you are putting yourself in the authors shoes, wondering how you would react in the same situations. Obviously I’ll show more never know, but reading this book put me just a bit closer, and am sure glad that I did. show less

Intelligent, intriguing, beautiful, horrible.....all these words accurately describe this memoir of a young woman's entry into the world of the human anatomy lab.

Christine began her journey with unbridled anticipation of what she would encounter during her first semester at medical school. What she experienced was far beyond anything she had imagined.

The author takes the reader through a first hand look at groups of young, inexperienced med students as they gather around "their" corpse in show more the anatomy lab. There are eighteen corpses to go around, with four or five students per corpse.

Between her strongly emotional and physical reactions to this experience, and her surprising emotional attachment to "her" corpse, whom they named Eve, the author takes us through the many changes that the practice of dissection of the body has gone through since the early, early times in Europe and how the physicians during that time often had to resort to grave robbing in order to provide their students and themselves bodies to use for dissection and learning, due to the banishment of the practice by the Catholic church at that time.

Christine also writes of her intense feelings of invasion into Eve's body, but also the gratitude of the gift that Eve gave in order for these students to learn from. Throughout the semester, the reader watches as Christine grows more and more sure of herself as she gets familiar with the human anatomy, in a way that no textbook could provide. But also the reader sees Christine come of age in recognizing the true humanity in each person she comes into contact with during her rounds, and finding her place as a physician in the world of illness and disease.

I found the book to be absolutely beautifully written, incredibly interesting and although gruesome at times for the lay person, as myself, it was an enthralling book about the reality of human dissection and the start of this young woman's challenging choice of professions. show less

I really enjoyed this book, probably because I could relate so much of what the author described to my own experiences with cadaveric dissection - everything from trying to find the right balance of humor and respectfulness in the lab, to the rush of emotions you feel when you see that your cadaver has painted fingernails (ours were a pearly pink), a stark reminder that she was once a living and breathing human being and not just a lab specimen. The historical bits were interesting as well, show more and reading this book made me really want to get back to the the lab again. show less