The Seven Ages of Death

‘Every chapter is like a detective story’ Telegraph

By: Richard Shepherd

Narrated by: Richard Shepherd

Brought to you by Penguin.

The heart-wrenchingly honest new book about life and death from forensic pathologist and bestselling author of Unnatural Causes, Dr Richard Shepherd.

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

What can death teach us about life?

Conducting many thousands of post-mortems has given Dr Richard Shepherd the opportunity to examine death at every stage of life. Each autopsy is its own unique investigation, providing evidence of how, through life, the risks to us ebb and flow. 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, about its owner's life story, about justice and even about himself.

From the bestselling author of Unnatural Causes comes 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.

Praise for Dr Richard Shepherd

'Gripping, grimly fascinating, and I suspect I'll read it at least twice' Evening Standard

'A deeply mesmerising memoir of forensic pathology. Human and fascinating' Nigella Lawson

'An absolutely brilliant book. I really recommend it, I don't often say that but it's fascinating' Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2

'Puts the reader at his elbow as he wields the scalpel' Guardian

'Fascinating, gruesome yet engrossing' Richard and Judy, Daily Express

'Fascinating, insightful, candid, compassionate' Observer

© Dr Richard Shepherd 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Critic reviews

This sequel is more ruminative, more meditative . . . Full of sharp observations about what life and death do to the human body

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

Each chapter is like a finely crafted detective story in which he expands on the causes of death as revealed by the post mortem, or the hidden reasons that precipitated it. Some are ordinary, others extraordinary. Shepherd writes beautifully, and despite its subject, the book is very funny in parts

Deeply insightful . . . Shepherd is unflinching in his self-dissection

Fascinating

Fascinating. He has the ability to examine himself and other people with the same forensic eye that he applies to corpses - one of the reasons why his books feel so life-enhancing

Grippingly elegiac yet wonderfully life-affirming, full of pithy observations about the inexorability of death and the marvels of existence (Felicia Yap, author of Future Perfect)

Praise for Dr Richard Shepherd

One of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time. Engrossing, a haunting page-turner. A book I could not put down

Heart-wrenchingly honest

Incredible

I am in tears listening to the beautiful ending…Dr Shepherd is a scientist, but recounts his experience and knowledge with the voice and prose of a poet. I could listen to 100 more hours of his fascinating life and insight and it would still not be long enough. His accounts of deaths at different ages of life will make you ponder your own choices, fear the ticking time bomb of genetics or poor lifestyle habits waiting to kill you, but ultimately acquiesce to the final trip that awaits us all. Being at an age where it is “s**t or get off the pot” time in terms of my health, I feel empowered to exercise a hell of a lot more, that’s for sure! I hope Dr. Shepherd continues to regale us all the stories of his career and personal experiences for a long time to come, because I just can’t get enough of it.

Truth in pathophysiology

Absolutely loved this, the perspective from “the other side” of the medical field and the story was read as eloquently as imagined. Need more than two of these! When will the next book be completed!?!

The narrative and the narrator are one of the best I’ve ever listened to

Great information. Engaging and relatable content. Beautifully told real life stories that help one consider one’s personal life journey and life choices.

A great read!

Brilliantly narrated by the author. A pleasure to listen. I was engrossed in the different scenarios he was explaining here. A world I know very little about. Well recommended and thoroughly enjoyable.

A beautiful book we all should read/listen to

This is one of the best written books about forensic pathology, scientifically well grounded whilst very human indeed, explaining the inevitable end in a friendly, professional way, allowing a glimpse into the author’s own life as a pathologist, husband, father - a caring human being. Very well written and read, I enjoyed every moment. Thank you Dr. Shepherd!