Allow me to introduce myself…

While the pandemic has been a whirlwind for all - panic, apathy, uncertainty, confusion, disease, and death - for me, it has been a marked time of growth and development, personally and professionally. As we slowly emerge from our cocoons and varying degrees of hibernation into a new semblance of normalcy, I thought it was time I share some of what I learned (and am continuing to learn) with the greater world. But I am getting ahead of myself!

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Nicole. I am a Board-certified Forensic Pathologist and a full-time practicing Medical Examiner. I know what you’re thinking - yes, we in the death industry have been extraordinarily busy! But I will delve more into that in future posts, promise! I was one of those trainees birthed out of Fellowship straight into the ever-burning inferno that is this pandemic. In this transition, I went from what felt like a voiceless trainee to a suddenly heard attending - much like Ariel finding her voice (Little Mermaid reference). And with this newfound voice, I want to speak on a bunch of things - inequities, national and regional trends in death, things I’ve read and done that help keep me balanced, and a host of other things you will hopefully find interesting and informative.

I am also the grown-up (eek!) version of a child who lost her father suddenly and unexpectedly at a young age. I know how weighty a loss like that can be. How much that can inform one’s future. How serious the work we do in the death investigation system is. And I want you to know that too.

“Thru” is the informal version of “through” and that’s what this site is meant to be - an informal study in death. Things you won’t find in a forensics textbook or even in the autopsy suite. This site will likely be a mix of lengthy, informative posts mixed with short, comedic rants, decompressive pieces, and (hopefully) worthy expansions of character-limited tweets. I hope you stick around for the ride and learn something useful!

NJ