Conducting many thousands of post-mortems has given Dr Richard Shepherd the opportunity to examine death at every stage of life. From old to young, from murder to misadventure, and from illness to accidental death, each body has taught him something: about human development, about mortality, its owner's life story, justice and even about himself. A powerful, moving, endlessly fascinating and above all reassuring book about death as it touches our own lives - how to understand it, how best to postpone it, and, when our time comes (as it must come), how to embrace it, as the last great adventure on our journey through life.