The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

I just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. There was so much to this book: history of medicine, medical ethics, the science of tissue culture, racism, family history and dynamics, and friendship. Rebecca Skloot does a great job of weaving this all together, presenting technical information and history just when it’s needed, while weaving this fascinating story of HeLa cells. HeLa cells were cells taken from a cancerous tumor from Henrietta Lacks in the 1950s. Those cells continued to reproduce, were critical to the discovery of numerous medical advances, and are still being used today for research.

The story/history of HeLa cells that was never completely shared with Lacks’ family. That obfuscation impacted family members in various ways, most of them negative. Skloot honors their anger and their pain as she also tells their story.

My favorite thing about the book is the friendship that develops between the author and Deborah (Henrietta’s daughter) as they do their detective work (research). The relationship starts out as wary cooperation and develops into a close friendship – not magically, but through persistence and patience.

I recommend this book and have it in print to share if you would like to read it. I think it would make for a good book club discussion as well.

 

This is a first book for Rebecca Skloot, a science writer who has been published in the New York Times Magazine, Prevention, and NOVA ScienceNOW.

Read the NY Times review of this book.

Visit Rebecca Skloot's website.

Necromancy

That is the subject of Paul Elwork's first novel The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead, set in 1925. Early in the story, Emily discovers that she can make a knocking sound by moving something in her ankle without appearing to move it. Shortly after this discovery, she and her brother begin to hold performances for their friends. During the performance, Emily contacts the spirit of an ancestor, and those in attendance can ask the spirit questions. Answers come in the form of one knock for “no” and two knocks for “yes.” It’s not long before word gets around, however, and soon some adults are interested in her talent for contacting spirits.  

The author acknowledges from the first that his novel is loosely based on the story of the Fox sisters, who enjoyed some fame as mediums in the late 1800s. In reading reviews of Elwork’s novel, I saw a reference to Captivity, a historical novel about the Fox sisters by Deborah Noyes.

I think one or the other of these novels would make for an interesting discussion. Why do some people want/need to believe in mediums, fortune tellers, etc.? If you could contact a deceased person, who would it be? What questions would you ask?