The Body Farm, otherwise known as The Forensic Anthropology Research Facility at the University of Tennessee, is one of the most sought out training facilities in the field of forensics.  It is by far the best training of my career and the experience is one of my favorite memories.  Well, most of the experience.  Hear all about my time at The Body Farm (I want to go back!) and how I spent my birthday one year with my head in a grave.

This week I have a chat with a former co-worker and friend, Kristen. Most of our memories together involved lots of laughter and office pranks as we were using humor as a coping mechanism for our stress before we even knew what a coping mechanism was. Now we reflect on our time together and give some pros and cons and advice to those looking at a career in forensics.

Are you an organ donor? That's the question that begins this episode all about postmortem organ, tissue, and cornea donation and what that really means. How my opinion of it has changed over the years and how a very special friend taught me even more about it after he passed. Listen to this week's episode that will surely educate on a process that can easily be misunderstood.

Richard Roberts had a stroke in the hospital and when his family was notified of his death, we found out that he was not who we thought he was. Much like "The Ex-Husband" episode a couple weeks back, this episode talks about the process of identification when all of the efforts of investigators were exhausted. When you have a chronically unidentified decedent that you KNOW should be identified easily just based on his tattoos alone. This episode sheds light on cold cases and my desire to do more in this field. Listen to find out Who Is Richard Roberts.

This episode, titled "The Journey" almost got called "The Struggle". I've been struggling lately and needed to just speak from the heart. I've learned SO much from death investigation but my greatest lesson I gained was from the families that I spoke to everyday. Over a decade of conversations about how there never is enough time. This episode isn't my typical story telling or teaching about forensics. This one is a life lesson that I'm continuously reminding myself; constantly learning and re-learning when things get hard. This is a journey and sometimes we all need a kick in the ass. This was my own ass kicking and maybe it can help someone else too.

This week I talk to Jessica and share her story about her ex-husband and how she found out after he died that he wasn't exactly who she thought he was. We revisit the steps we went to confirm suspicions and talk about the challenges of reframing your memories when things aren't exactly as they seem. This episode also talks about the subject of suicide and difficulties so many face surrounding mental health and substance abuse.

This week I invited a special guest to the show to talk about our career together. Christina Van Tassel Knepper has been with me from day 1 in the forensic world and together we have SO many stories and experiences. Listen to this week's episode where we have a discussion about the morgue, exposures, our trip to New York and more. Consider this episode one of many with Christina because this is just tip of the iceberg. She and I were a team and for a long time it was just us - The A Team.

A big part of my job was working in the morgue and something I did often was cutting open the head during autopsy to access the brain. This episode visits my experience with working in the morgue, assisting in autopsies, and the evisceration process. We'll call this part 1 of the autopsy talk with part 2 being an interview with one of my favorite people.

We all make mistakes. In life, in our careers, in relationships. I happened to make one on a case and it has made me feel so much shame for years. Looking back on it now, I realize how the narrative was controlled. Listen to the newest episode of Death Calls Podcast and learn how a married couple died in their home but at different times and from what.

Starting a podcast on a career surrounding death and dying to share stories, education, and my experience has been so therapeutic.  It has also been triggering.  I've learned so much about myself in the last few years and I would be willing to bet that there are others just like me that aren't talking about it.  This field can be dark.  It can change you.  It can eat you alive if you don't create your own boundaries.  If you don't make your health a priority; body and mind.  I'm ready to share a bit about mine and I hope that it encourages others in the field to stop brushing certain feeling aside in hopes that it will go away.  Please listen with caution and with the knowledge that I will be discussing PTSD, miscarriage and child death.