Beyond the Tape by Dr. Marie Cassidy – a rare insight into the world of pathology
We tend to be uncomfortable with death and the idea of dying. A law lecturer and a practicing probate lawyer once told us (a classroom of law students) that the majority of people begin their will-writing exercise with the words “if I die”…
“Beyond the Tape” allows no room for discomfort with death and, while graphic at times, remains both matter-of-fact and empathetic.
This book was not what I expected. The tag-line “The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist”, although very snappy, is perhaps less than truthful. “Beyond the Tape” tells us an enormous amount about the many deaths documented and reported on by Dr. Marie Cassidy, along with the role of the pathologist and the other “ologists” with whom they work, the science of identifying the cause of death and the process of documenting it. However, we learn relatively little about Dr. Marie Cassidy’s own life. What do learn is shared almost incidentally; for instance, Dr. Cassidy speaks about being on call and, in so doing, shares that her family members and close friends know not to call her as phone calls for her are a call to action. Any information relating more to her personal than professional life, is shared only insofar as it relates to her professional life.
Neither does “Beyond the Tape” have a discernible structure. In the opening chapters, Dr. Cassidy does touch on her early life and her path towards becoming a pathologist, but the middle and final chapters passed by in blur of tales from the frontline.
The book does not suffer for any of that; the work carried out be Dr. Cassidy is so darkly fascinating that her stories and her behind the scenes debriefs, kindly explained in layman’s terms, carry it. I was particularly struck by both how little we know about the work done by pathologists. Most people in Ireland are aware of the State Pathologist by name, but the majority of those people would not be able to explain the difference between a coroner and a pathologist. The process of identifying cause of death involves a whole cast of characters, the “ologists” as Dr. Cassidy calls them, as well as the various talented and highly trained technicians who work alongside them — a cast of people whose vital work is often undervalued and unappreciated.
I happened to read the obituary of Dr. John Harbison (printed in the Irish Times on Saturday 9 January), former State Pathologist and Dr. Cassidy’s predecessor, who sadly passed away recently. The obituary, as well as speaking about Dr. Harbison’s life and his contribution to science, also highlighted the issues he encountered early in his career as a result of a lack of resources and a lack of qualified pathologists to populate his team.
At times throughout the book, Dr. Cassidy’s frustration with the lack of support, financial and otherwise, for pathology in the various jurisdictions in which she has worked is palpable. She speaks at one point about having to stand in a bucket of hot water due to a lack of proper heating. She says, of mortuaries:
If you ever have to seek one out, go to the back of the oldest building on site and look for the boiler house. The mortuary will be next to it. It’s always the last department to get funding but why should the dead be short-changed?
Ever the selfless empath, she thinks first of the impact these sub-par surroundings can have on grieving family members and she suggests that the families of the deceased may find the process that bit easier were it to take place in a warm, well-lit and welcoming space.
Dr. Cassidy does also acknowledge the progress that has been and is being made in that regard, and the relative improvement in working conditions over the course of her own professional career. Here’s hoping that the progress continues.
Marie Cassidy is a doctor and a scientist. As a result, she discusses the deaths upon which she has worked objectively and factually. This distant objectivity when discussing traumatic deaths and murders may seem jarring at first. It conflicts with the emotive, sometimes sensationalist, language often used in newspaper reports covering those same deaths and murders. But the objectivity with which she speaks about her work does not come from a place of apathy or indifference; this is a person who flew to Sierra Leone to assist with retrieving and identifying the bodies of UN peacekeepers who had lost their lives there. Dr. Cassidy also shares a heartbreaking anecdote from her days as a trainee when, upon being confronted by the tiny bodies of twin babies who both passed away as a result of cot death, she burst into tears. She was whisked away by a senior colleague, who stressed the potential effects of this type of emotional reaction on the family of the deceased. Dr. Cassidy is required to be first and foremost a professional in the midst of upsetting and traumatic situations, and for that I have huge admiration.
Interestingly, Dr. Cassidy also speaks about the need for impartiality on her part in the context of court proceedings and upon questioning by the defence or the prosecution. Her job is not to apportion blame, but to report on her findings and truthfully answer any questions raised (as hypothetical or otherwise as they may be).
This is a book for the curious. Some may balk at that idea, given the content covered, but the book covers more than just the grisly details of tragic deaths. It serves as an insight into a discipline often overlooked — perhaps because those leading it have been hidden from sight next to the boiler house next to the back of the oldest building on site. “Beyond the Tape” shines a light on the world of those for whom death and the dead are a part of daily life.
For many readers, death will be a loaded, even traumatic subject and “Beyond the Tape” is certainly not for the easily-triggered, the overly squeamish or the faint-hearted. For some though, the demystification of what happens after a person’s final breath may be almost reassuring.
At the very least, after reading this book we know that we are in good hands after we die — if we die, that is.
