I’m writing a book.

Well, it’s more like an art book. And I’m writing poetry, not prose.

Backing up: When I was unemployed, I decided to look at my situation through the lens of a true American Millennial. A cynicism that could only come from living through multiple recessions, unhinged internet access, and end stage capitalism. How far could I push my need for inherent value?

After all, just because someone’s dead doesn’t mean they’re useless.

I think I first began daydreaming about My Curious Corpse when I was watching a documentary about bodies on Everest. I wondered if someone could donate their body as a trail marker and maybe save a few lives. But I didn’t want to be disrespectful in my interpretation, so I started with abstract pastels.

Then, I got a little more silly.

Everest was heavy stuff, and I needed something whimsical. I tested sketches with my ink pen and wrote rhymey things:

I used to love accessorizing, rings and things so energizing
But this method I’m devising’s much more haute couture
Gold and silver had their time, the modern age has dulled their shine
The human body’s more sublime, biology’s allure
Imagine all the adornments glowing bright with such allure
Hear me out – you look unsure.

What if I could be used as part of an audiobook series, narrated by the medical examiner currently in the process of autopsying me?

This one comes with a fun little limerick. Here’s a sample:

I regarded my dar’ with suspicion
That phrase gave my mind strange transition
To snippers and snicks
And buzzing and clicks

And the occasional coughing physician.

Did you know a coral reef is formed from skeletons? Throw me in the ocean and reflect on the parallels of the reef lifecycle and motherhood.

Ink/watercolor test for “An Ecosystem Behind My Eyes,” ft. the artist’s young apprentice

And along the way, I’m picking up scattered ideas to be noodled out later:

A bog body, laying in wait to be discovered by an anthropologist in 2600
A garden gnome urn
A physical embodiment of spaghettification

I think it’ll be maybe 15-20 of these, if I’m going for quality.

My Curious Corpse has been traveling like a turtle this year, and I’m really hopeful that it can be something Good Enough by Winter 2026. It’ll be published through Northern Pyre, so all sales (I know my mom would buy one) would go directly into the nonprofit.

If you’d like to stay updated on its progress, WIPs are included on our Instagram. And if you have ideas for your own curious corpses, send them my way! I’d love to find ways to bring them to life (pun).

— Ashley

My Curious Corpse

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