Replaceable You

Adventures in Human Anatomy

De: Mary Roach

Narrado por: Mary Roach

One of Literary Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2025
A Goodreads Readers' Most Anticipated Fall Book

From the New York Times bestselling author of Stiff and Fuzz, a rollicking exploration of the quest to re-create the impossible complexities of human anatomy.

The body is the most complex machine in the world, and the only one for which you cannot get a replacement part from the manufacturer. For centuries, medicine has reached for what’s available—sculpting noses from brass, borrowing skin from frogs and hearts from pigs, crafting eye parts from jet canopies and breasts from petroleum by-products. Today we’re attempting to grow body parts from scratch using stem cells and 3D printers. How are we doing? Are we there yet?

In Replaceable You, Mary Roach explores the remarkable advances and difficult questions prompted by the human body’s failings. When and how does a person decide they’d be better off with a prosthetic than their existing limb? Can a donated heart be made to beat forever? Can an intestine provide a workable substitute for a vagina?

Roach dives in with her characteristic verve and infectious wit. Her travels take her to the OR at a legendary burn unit in Boston, a “superclean” xeno-pigsty in China, and a stem cell “hair nursery” in the San Diego tech hub. She talks with researchers and surgeons, amputees and ostomates, printers of kidneys and designers of wearable organs. She spends time in a working iron lung from the 1950s, stays up all night with recovery techs as they disassemble and reassemble a tissue donor, and travels across Mongolia with the cataract surgeons of Orbis International.

Irrepressible and accessible, Replaceable You immerses readers in the wondrous, improbable, and surreal quest to build a new you.

Reseñas de la Crítica

Replaceable You by turns surprises and delights, revealing information that even I didn’t know…These curious facts, with attendant and laugh-inducing footnotes, keep us turning the pages, but the real power of the book lies in its humanity. —Wall Street Journal

Readers will feel awe at all the body can do and how it is made, as well as admiration for humanity’s per­sistence in exploring its limits—whether when confronted with a malfunctioning organ or the desire for a more plump derriere. Replaceable You will delight Roach’s fans and surely garner some more.—Bookpage

Since she burst onto the scene with 2003’s Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, the science writer Mary Roach has been grossing readers out with curiosity, humanity — and alarming gusto. And we can’t look away. —The New York Times

This book is so good and it's on my list because it's right on topic with Gone Before Goodbye. Replaceable You by Mary Roach is all about how in the future, we will be able to replace every organ in our body that fails. —Reese Witherspoon

We are all replaceable to some degree or another . . . with the exception of Mary Roach. There is no one and nothing like her—singular, bizarre, dedicated, passionate, fascinating. Her writing traffics at the unusual intersection of science, storytelling, and humor. That is a very tricky intersection to navigate, and no one does it as masterfully or consistently as she. I devour everything she writes.—Jason Alexander, actor/director

Mary Roach has had a more direct impact on my career than any other writer. She is her own genre of book—gonzo, hilarious, wildly educational. This is Roach at her finest.—Daniel Kraus, author of Whale Fall

In her brilliant (and brilliantly funny book) Replaceable You, Mary Roach explores the puzzle of the human body, the way we can assemble and reassemble the very human pieces into different versions of who we are and how we work. The result is intriguing, compassionate, wise and—as with all her books—addictively readable. Or to put this another way: Don't miss it. —Deborah Blum, best-selling author of The Poisoner’s Handbook

An amiably entertaining, endlessly intriguing stroll through the stuff of which we’re made.—Kirkus (starred review)

Interesting

4 stars - It was really good

The body is the most complex machine in the world and because of that you cannot easily replace what breaks. This book goes over various surgeries, research, and trials that are working to replace various parts of the body. Each chapter discusses a different topic of the body, like skin graphs, human and animal organ transplants, joint replacements, iron lungs, etc.

This book was fascinating and well researched. You could tell Roach had a good time visiting various places to learn about each of these topics and learn how to replace parts of the human body. What was surprising for some of these topics is how far the research still has to go or how quickly some of them are progressing. There is no linear line for all of them and it was just fascinating learning about all the different aspects of the body and what it takes to try and replace them.

Overall, Roach has presented another fascinating and well written book about the body and I highly recommend it, especially if you like learning about medical science and research.

TW: graphic depictions of medical content, animal experimentation and death,

Another delightful exploration of weird science from Mary Roach

This book is a fun exploration of the history and potential future of various human transplants and replacements, from prosthetic limbs to bio-printing organs to hair transplants. It’s read by the author, who is not the most polished narrator but whose delight in her subject and humor really shine through in her performance. And with her reading, all the terrifically funny footnotes are in their rightful places rather than tragically relegated to the last five minutes like in the Fuzz audiobook.

I will read anything Mary Roach writes

This short, scrumptious little book is a delight, and I love having Mary herself as the narrator. I laughed out loud several times. 5/5 stars

the usual mary roach awesomeness narrated by her!

I love reading a mary roach investigation into medicine and anatomy. this one was no exception. it has the level of detail that makes any nerd happy and is entertaining while remaining accurate and true to the science. I love having her narrate the book, none of the humor is lost and she does a great job. keep them coming Mary!

Never miss a book.

There has only been 2 women (and no men) with whom I’ve ever wished to trade lives with, because theirs was more interesting than mine: Jane Goodall and Mary Roach.

Anatomy explained in understandable language

I love Mary's books. They are entertaining, educational without being dry, and don't talk down to me.

Roach Does It Again

Mary Roach is an excellent science writer, and her wit and humor make her subjects approachable. Thoroughly informative and entertaining.

Mary Roach can do no wrong

I’m thrilled to have discovered Mary Roach and have read/listened to all of her books and look forward to more.

Mary Roach is a Rockstar

I am an anatomy nerd, and I love Mary roach. This book is above and beyond.
The new medical science in depth personalities, I love it all.

best on audio

Mary Roach's actual voice really makes her writing voice come through. I've read all of her books, but hearing her read one is a delight. she sometimes laughs at her own jokes (I mean that in the best possible way), and her manner helps you understand why so many people allow her to follow them around. and of course the book itself is fascinating, and any Mary Roach fan will love this one.