"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" takes the reader on an adventure to Clover and Baltimore Maryland in the early to mid 1900's, where we meet Henrietta Lacks, a poor black woman born in 1920. She's raised by her grandfather and marries her 1st cousin. She's maybe 1 or 2 steps removed from slavery and she lives in hard/tough conditions. Money is tight. She and her family move to Baltimore where it's easier to make a living. Henrietta has 5 children, but during the pregnancy of her last child, she realizes she has a tumor on her cervix and goes to John Hopkins for treatment. At the time, Jim Crow laws rule the land and Hopkins is the only hospital in the area who will treat blacks.

A biopsy of her tumor is taken after she gives birth. When it is cultured, the doctor culturing the sample discovers the cells are immortal. (the book explains how this comes to be, and I'll let you discover the secret by not spoiling it) The cancer is aggressive and Henrietta dies in 1951.

What follows is a heartfelt look at how HeLa cells have made incredible advances in science, and how Henrietta's family suffers without her presence in their lives.

Learning how science was advanced by HeLa cells, but also, there's a human side to Henrietta's story and how the human side suffered.

Rebecca Skloot writes a passionate narrative about Henrietta, her family, and the scientific power of HeLa cells.

Watch the HBO documentary with Oprah Winfrey.

sad. There are a lot of advances due to HeLa cells but how people "abused" the process was disheartening.

is Rebecca Skloot. She did a fantastic job researching the book. Not only that, she finds the perfect balance between Henrietta's human story and the story of science.

sometimes advances comes at the expenses of others and it shouldn't be like this. It's an example of what NOT to do.

I didn't know anything about Henrietta Lacks or HeLa cells when I saw this book in the bookstore. I took a look at the blurb and decided to pick up the book. I'm glad I did.

Rebecca Skloot writes a passionate narrative about Henrietta, her family, and the scientific power of HeLa cells. Her writing is easy to read and understand. Her story taps into raw emotion and effortlessly draws you in. I couldn't put the book down. It's a compelling read, not only from the human side, but from the scientific side as well. This is one book I would re-read. I highly recommend this book.

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Created Jul 12, 2020 at 4:17pm • Submit your own review...