Told with unflinching honesty and a touch of gallows humour, Clay and Bones is the personal memoir of the first female forensic sculptor in the FBI.
Lisa Bailey never considered a career working in death until she saw the FBI job posting for a forensic artist. The idea of using her artistic skill to help victims of crime was too compelling to pass up.
Soon she was documenting crime scenes, photographing charred corpses, and digitally retouching the disembodied heads of suicide bombers. But it was facial approximation
sculpting a face from the remnants of an unidentified victim's skull
that intrigued her the most. Bailey knew that if she could capture that person's likeness in clay, she just might help them be identified, and that might help law enforcement track down their killer.
Bailey worked on hundreds of cases and grew to become a subject matter expert in the field. It was the most challenging and fulfilling work she could have imagined, and she never thought of leaving. But her life changed when she became the target of sexual discrimination and harassment. She was stunned when FBI management protected the abusers and retaliated with threats, slander, and an arsenal of lawyers. Trapped in an increasingly hostile work environment, and infuriated at the hypocrisy of the FBI's tactics, Bailey decided to fight back.
Clay and Bones is a memoir with a mission, and a fascinating exploration into the surreal and satisfying work of a forensic artist.
By:
Lisa G. Bailey
Imprint: Academy Chicago Publishers
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 15mm
Weight: 403g
ISBN: 9780897334440
ISBN 10: 0897334442
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 01 June 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
1. You Had Me at Decomp 2. Walter Brown’s Daughter 3. Whole New World 4. Well, That Escalated Quickly 5. Finding the Missing 6. Obsession 7. The Upside Down 8. Pit of Despair 9. Dumb and Dumber 10. Of Course You Know, This Means War 11. Against All Odds 12. Bogota 13. Throne of Lies 14. Out of the Woods 15. And the Horse You Rode in On
Lisa Bailey is a retired FBI forensic artist, adjunct faculty member of the FBI Academy, and instructor of the FBI Forensic Facial Imaging Class. She has been featured prominently in major news outlets such as the Washington Post, National Public Radio, America's Most Wanted, Dateline NBC, and A&E Real Crime. Bailey and her forensic art also appear in Mental Floss, Medium, and the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
Reviews for Clay and Bones: My Life as an FBI Forensic Artist
“A fascinating account! Lisa Bailey deserves both our deepest respect and our profound admiration. I say this, first, in tribute to her incisive intellect, as revealed in these astonishing pages, that led to groundbreaking work in forensic investigation. And, importantly, I say this in honor of her unflinching courage in face of the flagrant gender discrimination and despicable administrative dishonesty she was forced to endure in her FBI workplace. The Bureau prides itself on being one of the world’s top law enforcement agencies, but the lack of any sense of internal justice within the ranks of its upper management reveals an organization that has much to answer for.” —Douglas Schofield, coauthor of Giovanni’s Ring: My Life Inside the Real Sopranos “Lisa Bailey’s story covering her fascinating career as a forensic artist and the bizarre treatment she endured while employed at the FBI is as compelling as a crime novel. In Clay and Bones, readers have a front row seat to the real world of forensic art and the real fight for justice Ms. Bailey braved through for years at the very agency that claims justice as the primary goal.” —Melissa Ross, author of Forensics for Kids “You know you’re in for a wild ride when a book drops you into the Body Farm on the first page. From investigations of charred corpses to intensive work on boxes of unidentified skulls, Clay and Bones is a gripping account of the day-to-day duties of an FBI forensic artist. And if you think reconstructing someone’s face from decades-old remains is Bailey’s most difficult challenge, you’re in for a big surprise.” —Lindsey Fitzharris, New York Times bestselling author of The Facemaker