Body decomposition and funerary history are subjects I don't know a ton about, so it was interesting to learn. Did you know that if you leave your body to science, you have as much control over whether you end up as a training tool for a would-be plastic surgeon versus a crash test dummy? Okay, that's not quite true. You can exclude certain things that you don't want your body to be used for. But within the scope of procedures not specifically excluded, they can and will ship you off to wherever they deem your body to be the most useful. So trying to pick your alma mater medical school as the destination for your corpse, unless you are someone with a whole lot of pull at the school, is pretty much a lost cause; you'll be headed off to the highest bidder in no time.
But as Mary Roach explores some of those places that you might end up, though many of them are odd or sort of gross, they all serve a purpose of sorts. I came away thinking that, although some options are more palatable to my conscious brain, I will no longer be conscious so maybe I don't really care that much. Or maybe I do. I haven't decided yet. But it has definitely made me think.
The book ends on an investigation into what may be the then-future of cadaver decomposition (the book was published in 2003), which though not developed there got its strongest foothold early in the scientific development in Sweden.
***SPOILER ALERT***
It's composting.
Cool, right? Weird, but neat. You can live on in the form of a mighty tree or flowering topiary! Something to think about. Probably has a better view and more fresh air than an anatomy lab.
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