Seven Ages of Death: 'Every chapter is like a detective story' Telegraph

Dr Richard Shepherd, a forensic pathologist, has written a new book about death. It is heart-wrenchingly honest and fascinating, and each chapter is like a finely-crafted detective story. Shepherd writes beautifully, and despite its subject, the book is very funny in parts. The book explores the seven ages of human existence, from old to young, from murder to misadventure, and from illness to accidental death. Each autopsy reveals something about human development, mortality, the owner's life story, justice, and even Shepherd himself. Shepherd has the ability to examine himself and other people with the same forensic eye that he applies to corpses, which is one of the reasons why his books feel so life-enhancing.

Format: Hardback
Length: 416 pages
Publication date: 02 September 2021
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

The heart-wrenchingly honest and fascinating new book from forensic pathologist and bestselling author of UNNATURAL CAUSES,Dr Richard Shepherd

A TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

Each chapter is like a finely-crafted detective story. . . . Shepherd writes beautifully, and despite its subject, the book is very funny in parts.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Enlightening, strangely uplifting. . . .

Shepherd's final chapter on death itself is a meditation of great beauty and light which puts all the darkness of the previous pages into perspective.

DAILY MAIL

Deeply insightful. Unflinching.

THE TIMES

Fascinating

DAILY EXPRESS

This book is about death, but in it I will take readers on a journey through life. . . .

Dr Richard Shepherd, Britain's top forensic pathologist, has spent a lifetime close to the dead. As a medical detective, each autopsy he carries out is its own unique investigation, uncovering the secrets not only of how a person died, but also of how they lived. Through twenty-four of his most intriguing, enlightening and never-before-told cases, Dr Shepherd shares autopsies that span the seven ages of human existence, and have taught him as much about the marvels of life as the inevitability of death. From old to young, from murder to misadventure, and from illness to accidental death, each of these bodies has something to reveal: about human development, about mortality, about its owner's life story, about justice and even about Shepherd himself.

From the bestselling author of Unnatural Causes comes a powerful, moving and above all reassuring book about death as it touches our own lives - how to understand it, and, when our time comes (as it must), how to embrace it as the last great adventure.

He has the ability to make the most gruesome and terrifying aspects of death seem almost mundane, and his writing is both informative and engaging.

This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the mysteries of the human body, as well as those who are simply curious about the nature of death.

Weight: 640g
Dimension: 164 x 244 x 40 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780241472033