Judy Melinek
Author of Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner
About the Author
Series
Works by Judy Melinek
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Melinek, Judy
- Birthdate
- 1970
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
San Francisco, California, USA - Education
- Harvard University
University of California, Los Angeles - Occupations
- forensic pathologist
- Relationships
- Mitchell, T. J. (husband)
- Agent
- Jessica Papin
- Short biography
- Dr. Melinek is a American Board of Pathology board-certified forensic pathologist practicing forensic medicine in San Francisco, California as well as an Associate Clinical Professor of Pathology at the UCSF Medical Center.
Dr. Melinek trained in pathology at University of California, Los Angeles and then as a forensic pathologist at the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office from 2001-2003. She has consulted and testified in criminal and civil cases in Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.
Dr. Melinek has been qualified as an expert witness in forensic pathology, neuropathology and wound interpretation. She has had subspecialty training in surgery and has published and consulted on cases of medical malpractice and therapeutic complications. She trains doctors and attorneys on forensic pathology, proper death reporting and certification. She has been invited to lecture at professional conferences on the subjects of death certification, complications of therapy, forensic toxicology and in-custody deaths. She has also published extensively in the peer-reviewed literature on subjects of surgical complications, death following gastric bypass, forensic toxicology, opioid overdose deaths, immunology, neuropathology and transplant surgery.
Dr. Judy Melinek
Past clients include the Santa Clara County District Attorney, Office of the County Counsel County of Contra Costa, Marin County Public Defender, the Court Appointed Attorney Program of the Alameda County Bar Association, the Attorney General of the State of California, the United States Military, and many private civil plaintiff’s and defense attorneys. Dr. Melinek travels locally in Northern California to testify in and around the Bay Area including San Mateo, Santa Clara, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Lake, Shasta, Solano, Sonoma and Stanislaus Counties. She has also been called to Southern California to review cases in Los Angeles, San Bernadino, Riverside, Ventura and San Diego Counties.
www.pathologyexpert.com/drjudymelinek/
Members
Reviews
Working stiff : two years, 262 bodies, and the… by Judy Melinek
I've read a lot of books by medical examiners but this one was a little different in that it did not focus on crime. There was a section on forensics, but in general it was more of a "dating the life," and, as such, interesting
I enjoyed her tales of her "patients" and a look behind the scenes of how causes of death are solved as well as the people who do this. Some details not for the faint-hearted or squeamish about bodily funstions and make-up.
At once touching, shocking, and funny. Very informative book about what it's like to be a big city medical examiner. I love crime procedurals and I'd watch the crap out of a show based on this book. ;)
This review originally appeared on my blog at www.gimmethatbok.
At the end of this post there will be a link you can click to enter a giveaway for a SIGNED hard copy of this book.
Some people have a firm idea of what being a medical examiner must be like: they swoop to the scene of a crime, wearing their best clothing, spend a few hours examining the body, then they hold a glamorous press conference to tell the world how stray hairs and stomach contents helped solve the crime.
Not so much. Becoming a medical examiner takes hard work, a strong stomach, the desire to see justice done, and the ability to listen to the dead speak. Dr Judy Melinek is one of those people, and Working Stiff is the story of her first two years as a rookie forensic pathologist. As luck would have it, she spent that time in the best classroom in the world: New York City, July, 2001. Not only did she experience the September 11th attacks firsthand, she also worked on the American Airlines flight 587 crash, and performed hundreds of other autopsies (both criminal deaths and natural causes).
Each chapter is about a different person, how they died, why they died, and how the cause of death was determined. Beware: there are extensive, gory, detailed descriptions of each body that would cause a normal person to gag, drop the book, and flee. However, if you are like me and enjoy reading about floaters, maggots, lividity, and a phenomenon known as “respirator brain”, then this is the book for you. There are a great deal of fun facts that you will love learning, such as:
“I could tell right away Fanelli had died of hypothermia because his stomach lining, which is supposed to be smooth and pink, was instead deep crimson and pitted with dark brown ulcers. When your core body temperature drops below 95 degrees, your body goes into a crisis management mode, cutting off the blood supply to nonessential organs in order to keep critical functions running. The interrupted blood to the stomach comes flooding back in the late stages of hypothermia and causes a reperfusion injury called leopard skin gastric cardia. To this day I have never seen a more clear case of it. Each body tells a story, and this one told the miserable story of a man freezing to death.”
The author’s way of telling a story is honest and filled with wry humor. Her emotions for the dead shine through, and her dedication to the job is evident, as she tells the story about a cold case that she solves with the help of a forensic anthropologist. Every case has its own moral, and the resolution is often poignantly brought forth in a gentle way, thanks to the wonderful writing style of Dr Melinek. This book is unique in that you can learn something about how the body works, how humans handle death, and marvel at how the smallest of details can make a world of difference.
I truly enjoyed reading this, as it fits perfectly into my preferred genre. In fact, my only complaint is that it was too short–I hope Dr Melinek has another book on the horizon soon!
I have one SIGNED copy for giveaway; use the box below to enter!… (more)
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Statistics
- Works
- 3
- Members
- 773
- Popularity
- #32,918
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 43
- ISBNs
- 33
