Stiff is the first of Mary Roach’s books I ever read, which prompted me to immediately gobble up two more once I finished it. Stiff is about what happens to bodies when they are donated to science — because, fun fact, if you choose to donate your body, you don’t have much say in where you go. Being used by medical students and for forensics research makes sense. But did you know cadavers are also used as crash test dummies and target practice? Or that some of those medical students hold a funeral-like ceremony for their cadavers at the end of the semester? Roach breathes life into the story of what happens to our physical beings after death in the most respectful, informative way. She digs into more than just the unusual science bits; she also gets into the ethical and moral issues surrounding the use of cadavers in any form.

From Reading Pathways: Mary Roach at Book Riot.