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.