Exploring subjects from the challenges of retirement to an array of travel adventures to reflections on the vagaries of daily life, author Zoya Schmuter presents in her book a collection of essays and stories that capture personal moments, but also make insightful connections that link universal experiences.

The essay "Retirement Coming" addresses the concerns of many professional people fearful of the retirement proposition and who are challenged by the necessity of restructuring their life. "We Borrowed Grandchildren for Swiss Vacation" shares a funny tale of a warm and fulfilling relationship during a two-week vacation trip to Switzerland of the grandparents with their grandchildren, ending with unusual adventure caused by flooding in the Alps. "The Bavarian Castle" tells a romantic story of Schmuter's week in a beautiful castle in Franconia where the underground path led her to the professional encounter with ancient mummies.

From New York to Florida to the Poconos and beyond, Walk of Life offers a plethora of stories that explore both conflict and epiphany.

Exploring subjects from the challenges of retirement to an array of travel adventures to reflections on the vagaries of daily life, author Zoya Schmuter presents in her book a collection of essays and stories that capture personal moments, but also make insightful connections that link universal experiences.

The essay "Retirement Coming" addresses the concerns of many professional people fearful of the retirement proposition and who are challenged by the necessity of restructuring their life. "We Borrowed Grandchildren for Swiss Vacation" shares a funny tale of a warm and fulfilling relationship during a two-week vacation trip to Switzerland of the grandparents with their grandchildren, ending with unusual adventure caused by flooding in the Alps. "The Bavarian Castle" tells a romantic story of Schmuter's week in a beautiful castle in Franconia where the underground path led her to the professional encounter with ancient mummies.

From New York to Florida to the Poconos and beyond, Walk of Life offers a plethora of stories that explore both conflict and epiphany.

Over the last 22 years in the New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Schmuter performed thousands of autopsies and testified in courts hundreds of times. Many of these cases present interest for a general reader, especially given the attention to this profession in the last decade in movies, TV shows and fiction books.

The first chapter of this book is dedicated to the evolution of the Office of Chief Medical Examiner over the last 20 years, its transformation to one of the largest and best in the world. This tale is presented throughout the prism of the author's individual experiences and closely intertwined with her professional life. It lays the foundation for the following 25 chapters of challenging cases from the author's personal experience. Many of them include captivating stories of homicide investigation with court testimonies. The truth, however, is that the crime related deaths cover fewer than 15% of all cases performed by medical examiners. This book brings up and creates public awareness of many important issues beyond the traditional topic of homicides, among them drug intoxication death, child negligence and abuse, sudden death of young people, misdiagnosis, prophylactics of sudden infant death.