All That Remains cover art

All That Remains

A Life in Death

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

All That Remains

By: Sue Black
Narrated by: Sue Black
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £10.34

Buy Now for £10.34

About this listen

Random House presents the audiobook edition of All That Remains by Professor Sue Black, read by the author.

Sue Black confronts death every day. As Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology, she focuses on mortal remains in her lab, at burial sites, at scenes of violence, murder and criminal dismemberment, and when investigating mass fatalities due to war, accident or natural disaster. In All that Remains she reveals the many faces of death she has come to know, using key cases to explore how forensic science has developed, and what her work has taught her.

Do we expect a book about death to be sad? Macabre? Sue’s book is neither. There is tragedy, but there is also humour in stories as gripping as the best crime novel. Our own death will remain a great unknown. But as an expert witness from the final frontier, Sue Black is the wisest, most reassuring, most compelling of guides.

‘Dame Sue Black writes about life and death with great tenderness but no nonsense, with impeccable science lucidly explained, and with moral depths humanely navigated, so that we can all feel better about the path we must all inevitably follow. I am genuinely glad I read this book.’ – Lee Child

‘Compelling, brave and extremely accessible... A must for anyone who thinks about the basics of living and dying. And there are jokes as well.’ – Rachel Joyce

Crime Death & Dying Law Social Sciences Sociology Forensics Inspiring Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Scary Natural Disaster

Critic reviews

One might expect [this book] to be a grim read but it absolutely isn’t. I found it invigorating! (Andrew Marr)
Black’s utterly gripping account of her life and career as a professor of anatomy and forensic anthropology manages to be surprisingly life-affirming. As she herself says, it is “as much about life as about death”. (PD Smith)
An engrossing memoir ... an affecting mix of the personal and professional. (Erica Wagner)
A model of how to write about the effect of human evil without losing either objectivity or sensitivity ... Heartening and anything but morbid... Leaves you thinking about what kind of human qualities you value, what kinds of people you actually want to be with. (Rowan Williams)
For someone whose job is identifying corpses, Sue Black is a cheerful soul ... All That Remains feels like every episode of Silent Witness, pre-fictionalized. Except, you know, really good. (Helen Rumbelow)
This fascinating look by a world-leading forensic scientist at what the dead can tell us is a real eye-opener... Sue Black must be one of the most unusual people in Britain… extraordinary…part meditation, part popular science and part memoir...the book offers a close-up and startlingly clear view of a subject that makes most of us look away. (James McConnachie)
The real thing here is not the cause of death, but the nature of the life. Black is genuinely moving about the respect we should have for the dead … There is much to admire in this book.
Poignant and thoughtprovoking… it is the book’s humanity which will connect with readers.
Let [Sue Black] take you by the hand and lead you on a journey which will inspire your awe and devotion … A wonderful surprise of a book. (Brian Masters)
Most of us are terrified of death, but Sue Black shows us that death is in fact a wondrous process, intimately tied with life itself. Written with warmth and humanity, All That Remains reveals her life among the dead, who can surely count her as their best friend. (Tess Gerritsen)
All stars
Most relevant
Talking about the dead made so easy, compassionate and thoughtful. Easy listening and keeps you gripped.

What a story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A friend bought me this as a physical book during lockdown but I didn't have the mental capacity to get very far reading for a long long time (still don't really). I revisited this recently as an audiobook and got through it so quickly and really recommend it. Dame Sue's voice is wonderful and she is a natural storyteller, she brings such empathy to the topic, I could listen to her talk about her work for another few books! I find the lives and stories of pathologists fascinating, also thoroughly enjoyed the books by Richard Shepherd and also 'When the dogs don't bark' by Angela Gallop if you're interested in this sort of book

Really enjoyed this!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Thank you Sue Black for the depth of your knowledge, expertise and, this extraordinary book, which I came across while writing something that required me to research what can be detected from historic human remains, where death had likely occurred in suspicious circumstances.

It has been an educational experience and a humbling one to listen to you narrating the incredible work you have done over the years.

What balances this book is your own familial experiences of losing loved ones and what they taught you towards and following their respective deaths.

I also found the deep respect you have for those who bequeathed their bodies to your Anatomy Department at Dundee University to be a blessing, as I had not known how the dead are treated once they fulfil their final wish by embarking on their role in your dissection room. I hope all those who follow in your footsteps will show the same integrity, humanity and care as you do.

Your humour and of those you met along the way has also made this subject an endearing read.

Some of the stories you have shared were difficult to hear, to learn of the suffering at a far deeper level than just hearing it on the news, (as you say too much of that causes a degree of desensitisation) especially those who you discuss during your time in Kosovo, which was utterly heartbreaking but also highlighted how important your work is (especially for someone like the gentleman, whose family were wiped out due to the criminal atrocities there, who had the foresight to preserve what was left of them to obtain answers later on).

I am certain that those your findings touched, brought a level of support and easing of the pain of not knowing, at a time when life was unbearable, bringing them the truth in as sensitive way as possible - which you demonstrate throughout - despite the obvious need to remain “detached” so you are able to carry out your work.

I love that you refer to Death as “She” - it’s comforting, like the mother who greets us at our births, she resembles this same mother, accompanying us on our journey through dying, when our time to depart this world arrives. This moving image you have created removes so much of the fear and brings a sense of calm and acceptance for what each and every one of us will one day experience.

I am also now giving bequeathing some thought! Tho I’m not quite there with any decisions!

Thank you!

A sympathetic, empathetic, insightful and thorough exploration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is one of the best books I have listened to (or read if I had read it).

Simply brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enthralling, fascinating, wonderfully narrated and never macabre. Like it's author it is distilled excellence. Quite simply one of the best books I have come across in a long long time.

Outstanding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews