Christine Montross

Body of Work Christine Montross

Christine Montross was a nervous first-year medical student, standing outside the anatomy lab, preparing herself for what was to come. Entering a room with stainless steel tables topped by corpses in body bags is shocking no matter how long you've prepared yourself, but a strange thing happened when Montross met her cadaver. Instead of being disgusted by her, she was utterly intriguedintrigued by the person the woman once was, humbled by the sacrifice she had made in donating her body to science, and fascinated by the strange, unsettling beauty of the human form. They called her Eve. This is the story of Montross and Eve and the surprising relationship that grew between them. Montross's experience with Eve moved her to learn more about the history of cadavers and the study of anatomy. Her disturbing, often entertaining anecdotes enrich this exquisitely crafted memoir, endowing an eerie beauty to the world of a doctor-in-training. Body of Work is a mesmerizing, rarely seen glimpse into the day-to-day life of a medical studentan unforgettable examination of the mysteries of the human body and a remarkable look at our relationship with both the living and the dead. How lucky we are that a poet decided to become a physician. . . . Montross is a master of detail. Katrina Firlik, M. D., neurosurgeon and author of Another Day in the Frontal Lobe.