About
Mary Jumbelic, M.D., is an author from Central New York, and former chief medical examiner of Onondaga County. As a board-certified forensic pathologist, she has performed thousands of autopsies during her 25-year career.
She received awards for her work from the National Transportation Safety Board and the New York State Senate and has been recognized by the National Organization of Women as a trailblazer.
She has published many nonfiction stories, accounts of her life both in and out of the morgue. Her work has garnered awards in literary contests and been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her first book, Here, Where Death Delights, a Literary Memoir, came out in November 2023 and is an international award winner. Her second book, Speak Her Name, is expected in May 2025.
Her motto is = She speaks for the dead. They speak for her.
Featured Work
Here, Where Death Delights, A Literary Memoir
Mary Jumbelic has been obsessed with death since the demise of her father when she was 13. The why and how of his mortality plagued her. While viewing an autopsy at the age of 15, she discovered a science that explained the process.
For 25 years, she analyzed corpses and explained to families what had happened to their loved ones, something that hadn’t been done for her. This daily confrontation challenged her to re-live her own loss. Dr. Jumbelic developed a way to honor people’s lives by speaking for them in courts, classrooms, and interviews. How did she finally integrate death into her own life so filled with hope?
This is her journey.
