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Book Review: Here, Where Death Delights

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February 29

Here, Where Death Delights

by Mary Jumbelic, M.D.

Genre: Nonfiction / Memoir

ISBN: 9798988205203

Print Length: 302 pages

Reviewed by J.B. Leddington

Exploring the life and career of a forensic pathologist, Here, Where Death Delights is a literary memoir that elucidates an important, albeit often little understood, professional path and the impact it has on both the professional themself, those close to them, and the wider public. Given its subject matter, there is no shortage of blood, despair, and tragedy, but there is also hope, comfort, and inspiration, and it all makes for an insightful and moving account of how a life spent around by death can be a life well spent.

"This book is true, as far as one's memory can ever be." It begins with Jumbelic's early fascination with death, sparked by the loss of her father during surgery intended to treat lung cancer when she was just 13. Although she hadn't wanted to acknowledge the possibility, her father had been clear about his fate before he went to the hospital: "'Stop it, Mary, I told you, I'm not coming home.' An uncharacteristic sharpness crept in his tone. 'I'm going to die.'" When this bleak pronouncement proved true, Jumbelic realized that "I would spend the next four decades of my life searching for answers."

Her initial curiosity about the mystery and inevitability of death led to and was spurred on by a high school visit to the Medical Examiner's Office ("No one has chosen our office in 15 years, since we started listing with the program."), which ultimately prompted her to pivot from pursuing a medical career to embarking on a 25-year career as a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, a career spent listening to corpses and explaining to grieving families. During this time, she worked in morgues in Chicago, Peoria and the Quad Cities, and Syracuse, building a reputation that led to her involvement in the aftermath of major events such as 9/11.