Quotes by Barbara Butcher

“ I was told to 'act as if.' Act as if you are sober, confident, unafraid. Act until it's no longer an act. “

-Barbara Butcher-

I was told to 'act as if.' Act as if you are sober, confident, unafraid. Act until it's no longer an act.

The first lie of an addict is diminishment. Diminishing what happened, how much you drank, how awful your behavior was. You try to diminish everything, but you're not fooling anyone, only making yourself small.

When you leave here each day, surround yourself with things of beauty. Enjoy nature and art and food and music and love. Just do it, and don’t skip a day.

People can handle the truth, but not uncertainty. The things they imagine are almost always more painful than the facts.

Introducing Barbara Butcher

Barbara Butcher is a former death investigator who spent over two decades at the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). She was the second woman ever hired for this role and the first to serve more than three months.

During her tenure, she investigated more than 5,500 death scenes, including 680 homicides. Butcher also served as the Director of the Forensic Sciences Training Program and Chief of Staff at the OCME. In 2023, she published a memoir titled "What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator," where she reflects on her career and personal journey, including overcoming alcoholism. Her candid storytelling offers insights into the complexities of death investigation and the profound lessons she learned about life through her work.