May 19 2021
Diary of a Deputy Coroner
West Coast Radio Welcomes Donna Francart to the program. Donna spent almost a decade as a deputy coroner in the midwest and wrote a tell-all book describing her experience. The Dead, Ghosts, Angels, it is all here for you on West Coast Radio.
I’ve Seen Dead People Takes Readers Inside the Mind and Soul of Deputy Coroner
— It was typical for Donna Francart to go to bed with her makeup on and hair styled; her clothes nearby and her tactical boots by the door. Seconds count when duty calls, and death doesn’t care if it’s the middle of the night.
'I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner' gives readers a rare look inside the mind and heart of one of society’s most mysterious — and to some, macabre — professions.
For nearly nine years, Francart was a deputy coroner who worked medicolegal death investigations, which are those involving suspicious, violent, unexplained or unexpected deaths. Lacking access to structured debriefings, Francart turned to journaling as a way of privately unpacking the profound grief she faced and preserving her own mental well-being. As she did, she found herself in a conundrum of perplexing relationships with both the living and the dead.
With 'I've Seen Dead People', she shares her unfiltered thoughts and emotions as she navigates a world most of us cannot imagine — a world Francart was drawn to out of a genuine desire to help others during their darkest hours.
“Every single one of us on this earth deserves to die with dignity and respect,” she says. “If our lives are robbed from us by the hands of another, our voices must be heard, to tell the truth and seek justice. Every one of us was a mother, a father, someone's brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin. Everyone is someone, and that is how I handled every single case that I was on.”
I've Seen Dead People also chronicles everyday moments, as Francart tried to provide as normal an upbringing as possible for her two sons. Along the way, they all learned to share their space with the many spirits that Francart encountered, and to embrace the beauty of life.
Donna's book, "I've Seen Dead People: Diary of a Deputy Coroner" is available now on Amazon.com
