From the Bookshelf of Diversity in All Forms!…

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot

Start date: December 1, 2018

Finish date: December 30, 2018

Discussion: Monthly Group Reads

Why we're reading this: The diversity topic we will cover in December is Disease & Illness.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks b…more
[close] The diversity topic we will cover in December is Disease & Illness.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

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What Members Thought

Mar 05, 2017 Suzy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-faves, listened-to, biography, mia-book-tours, non-fiction, movie-fave, secrets

I was completely in the thrall of author Rebecca Skloot while listening to the audio of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. This is at once a scientific story of Henrietta's cancer cells, called HeLa, which were harvested from her as she was dying from cervical cancer in 1951. These are the first human cells to become "immortal", perpetuating themselves even to today, and being used in many important health discoveries including polio vaccines, in vitro fertilization, aids research, cancer dru I was completely in the thrall of author Rebecca Skloot while listening to the audio of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. This is at once a scientific story of Henrietta's cancer cells, called HeLa, which were harvested from her as she was dying from cervical cancer in 1951. These are the first human cells to become "immortal", perpetuating themselves even to today, and being used in many important health discoveries including polio vaccines, in vitro fertilization, aids research, cancer drugs and too many others to mention. It is also the story of Henrietta and her family, who had no idea that their mother's cells were taken or the importance of the cells to medicine. Her children learn about this from Skloot's research and this knowledge causes misunderstandings and various reactions in Henrietta's adult children from some wanting financial remuneration to others just wanting their mother to be honored and respected for her contribution to science. My heart went out to Henrietta and her family who, because they were poor and black, were treated, and lived, as second class citizens. They are often at the mercy of their many health problems through lack of education, lack of access to health insurance and suspicions about the medical establishment. It seems so unjust! (Thanks to GR friend Will Byrnes for posting this NY Times article on the consent agreement reached with the family finally . . . 62 years later. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/08/sci...)

At first I found the structure of the book a little frustrating because it jumped in both time and storyline, but once I decided to just flow with it, I was completely engaged. I think listening helped. It was as if the author was telling her story just to me, and that I was discovering it side-by-side with her. There are so many layers, that my thought is there's something to connect to for everyone based on a reader's interests coming to the book. Skloot reveals early in the book that she learned about HeLa in a biology class when she was younger and decided then and there to research and write about them. Little did she know that she would be telling the story of the Lacks family right along with the scientific importance of the cells. I appreciated the interview at the end of the audio where Skloot tells us how she decided on the focus and the structure of the book.

This was the February book club pick at our wonderful art museum here in Minneapolis, and I enjoyed the discussion. I'm eagerly anticipating the HBO movie based on the book which will be aired April 22 here in the States. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5686132/ ...more

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Oct 23, 2018 Menjol Almeida rated it really liked it

Shelves: science

My main interest in reading this book was to deepen my knowledge about science and the search for an amazing story. What I found, however, was much more than that. The book deals with the curious history of Henrietta Lacks and how her cells have helped in the scientific progress around the world, but also deals with the lives of her children, especially Deborah Lacks, one of her daughters, her anguish at her mother´s absence, the dificult ethical questions faced by the family regarding the use o ...more

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Apr 14, 2015 Maya B rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, historical, favorites, biography

This book should be required reading. This book leaves your emotions all over the place. I like how the author used narratives mixed in with scientific facts. It kept my attention from the very first page. Its very sad what happened to Henrietta Lacks. She definitely suffered, not knowing she was being used as a sacrificial lamb to advance medicine. The author also lets you into the world of her family. I know the author built a connection to the family over time, but I felt like they needed an ...more

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Jul 22, 2015 Jeanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-women, nonfiction, read-2015, medicine-health

Henrietta Lacks was dying of cervical cancer in 1951, when both her cancerous and benign cells were taken and grown in the lab. The cancerous ones have, unusually, continued living and contaminated other cell lines. HeLa cells have been instrumental in transforming many aspects of medicine and led to many new medications.

Unfortunately, the HeLa cells were taken from Ms. Lacks without her permission or knowledge. Skloot raises many interesting questions about informed consent, paternalistic medi ...more

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Jul 31, 2017 Alana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: educational, history, books-to-film, biographical, science, political

I was completely fascinated by this book. I was half mesmerized by the story and by the astonishing ways that HeLa cells have been used over the years, for many incredible scientific advances, and half horrified at the way science has been utilized on people, often without their knowledge or consent, in this country (and I imagine in many others) over the last century, one in which we think we are so ethical and enlightened. Yes, this book is full of a lot of science, but frankly, if you're at a I was completely fascinated by this book. I was half mesmerized by the story and by the astonishing ways that HeLa cells have been used over the years, for many incredible scientific advances, and half horrified at the way science has been utilized on people, often without their knowledge or consent, in this country (and I imagine in many others) over the last century, one in which we think we are so ethical and enlightened. Yes, this book is full of a lot of science, but frankly, if you're at all concerned about the current state of healthcare both on a political level and on a social level, you owe it to yourself to read this (and other information on the topic) and educate yourself!

Skloot did a great job of balancing the precarious topics of ethics and law, and the individuals affected by all this (which, truly, is all of us, even if we don't realize it). She did not villainize the hospital and doctors, nor did she turn them into scientific saints. The book is about equally half positive and half negative. The advances made in the science of health because of the HeLa line are astounding: vaccines, cures, gene mapping.... and the list literally goes on and on. However, the ethical long-term questions raised are equally as sobering and heavy and absolutely MUST be considered. I enjoyed the entire book, but the Afterward containing more recent medical and legal issues regarding cells and other tissues was sobering and a bit frightening, if hopeful at the same time. The idea that cancer research can be halted because a company chooses to patent the genes for it is appalling! But that cures and treatments can be developed because of those same genes is absolutely incredible.

This is a story that needed told, and it encourages me to seek more information from other sources and to be incredibly conscious of what legal decisions are coming down the line in my state and my country, because this issue is only going to become more profound; it will never just fade and go away if we ignore it. ...more

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Apr 07, 2023 Sassy Sarah Reads rated it really liked it

Shelves: black-stories-and-lives-matter, books-i-own, nonfiction, not-sure

I enjoyed teaching this and my students tended to have a lot of takeaways from Henrietta's story, the racism in the medical field, and the issues of consent that have long plagued the medical and science industry and research. I 100% agree with some of my students that while Skloot's heart is in the right place, but she is not always the best person to tell this story due to having the perspective and lens of a white woman compared to the complexities and impact that could've been reached if thi ...more

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Jan 02, 2020 Leslie rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020

This is the kind of public health and social science book I should have loved, but the author’s choice to include herself in the story was distracting from the story of Henrietta, her family, and the development, use, and ethical issues of HeLa cells.

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