Janis Ann Parks

Janis Ann Parks worked for years in the healthcare field in various clinical areas from intensive care to drug and alcohol recovery. While residing in Augusta, Georgia, a city well known for its annual Masters Golf Tournament, but also home of the Medical College of Georgia since 1828; Janis became interested in medical history. She found an account of a slave named Grandison Harris, who was purchased in 1852, for the purpose of grave robbing to procure cadavers for anatomy lessons at the Medical College.

Janis' research led her to the Greenblatt Library's special collections where she found copies of the Southern Medical and Surgical Journal dating back to its inception in 1836. It was a privilege to wear the white gloves necessary to protect the archives. The author found so many fascinating details about what was believed to be the best medical practice of the day that she added "case studies" to describe them.

She also visited the Cedar Grove Cemetery, the site of the body snatching, to view the dedicated headstone seen in the picture with the inscription "Known but to God." It was in 1989, while excavating to prepare for a renovation at the site of the old Medical College building, that human bones were discovered. After forensic analysis, it was estimated that between 590 and 610 individuals involuntarily donated their bodies to medical science. Those findings also contributed to the knowledge she researched.

This is Janis Ann's first published book and it took 7 years to materialize.