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in body of work, christine montross, a first-year medical student, describes her experiences in the human anatomy lab and how they shaped her thoughts on life, death and dying.
the wisdom of that moment of pure emotion resonates with me still: that the dearest and most enduring moments of our lives are sometimes the quietest ones.
i wonder if this is what death is like. a nighttime motorcycle ride, a glance at evening’s light on water. a desire to stay to take in the beauty of the world with all its imperfections and a bell that sounds to say that the hour has come beyond which we cannot possibly stay.
although i’ve been through many animal anatomy labs and performed countless necropsies, i cannot fathom the impact that cutting into a human body must have on the psyche of a budding physician. this book is a glimpse into those hours of transforming dissection. powerful, provocative and yet surprisingly poetic.
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