The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Mar 03, 2011 Erin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club, biography-memoir, nonfiction

My thoughts about this book are a bit scattered, and perhaps my situation in the midst of what is starting to shape up as a chronic health problem didn't put me in the best frame of mind for reading it. I truly expected to love it, but I don't think I did. First, I almost always dislike it when the author of a non-memoir, non-fiction work becomes a main character in the story and that's what you saw here. I felt for the Lacks family, and the impact of the poverty and lack of education on the gen My thoughts about this book are a bit scattered, and perhaps my situation in the midst of what is starting to shape up as a chronic health problem didn't put me in the best frame of mind for reading it. I truly expected to love it, but I don't think I did. First, I almost always dislike it when the author of a non-memoir, non-fiction work becomes a main character in the story and that's what you saw here. I felt for the Lacks family, and the impact of the poverty and lack of education on the generations of the family followed here, but I also felt that Skloot might have done some members of the family a disservice by publishing this warts-and-all account of their lives, especially since their difficulties continue into present-day. Don't get me wrong - I don't doubt that Skloot had/has real affection for the Lackses, but they are portrayed as a family who hasn't risen above, and, in many cases, just the opposite. And she seems to place at least a portion for the blame for that at the feet of....well, who, exactly? Johns Hopkins? The medical research machine? For-profit biological corporations? A racist society? Or all of the above? However, there's no clear connection drawn.

In addition, Skloot takes pains to separate herself from all the other journalists who have come to the Lacks story before her....SHE certainly had no intention of using this family in any way, right? Except that she's become a famous, award-winning author from this book, and while her brief statement at the end of the book indicating that she's set up a foundation for the family, indicating that "some profits" will be donated to it, there's no clear statement of exactly how much, and for what purposes, precisely (and I realize that her lawyers wouldn't let her be more specific, but still...) In distinguishing her own motives from other authors, she even chastises Michael Gold, but it seems clear that she used his work extensively as a reference source, a separation that strikes me as disingenuous at best.

Perhaps my other difficulty with the book was the tone of an overall indictment of the medical research community. Cell research was in its infancy in the early 1950s. Henrietta's cells were a true miracle, but not one that could have been anticipated - I can only imagine that scientists all over the world took thousands of such liberties, but it would be difficult to argue that they didn't serve the greater good, and, as much as I feel for the Lacks family, there is simply no way to rectify that error now, so it was often frustrating to read about the Lackses palpable anger with no direction.

It's not that I hated the book, I just didn't love it. Henrietta Lacks lived a brief, difficult life and died in horrendous circumstances that were borne of both biology and society. She lives on through what her wondrous cells have given the world, and even though I wasn't crazy about the book, I'm glad that she, and her family, are receiving their due. ...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Kerry rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, about-a-woman, audible, audiobook, science

Okay, first just the narration: the narrator does "accents." It didn't bother me when she was doing all these African-American people, but when she busted out the Asian-American "ah so" thing, I was sort of horrified. Does that make me a racist? I'm not sure. Anyway, she was fine with everything else.

I originally gave this three stars but busted it down to two (that means "It was OK.") It's not a bad book, per se, I'm just a little bewildered at how successful it apparently was. There are two pa Okay, first just the narration: the narrator does "accents." It didn't bother me when she was doing all these African-American people, but when she busted out the Asian-American "ah so" thing, I was sort of horrified. Does that make me a racist? I'm not sure. Anyway, she was fine with everything else.

I originally gave this three stars but busted it down to two (that means "It was OK.") It's not a bad book, per se, I'm just a little bewildered at how successful it apparently was. There are two parts, intertwined: there's the part about how the HeLa cells affected scientific research, and some things that came out of it. Then there is the story of the family of the woman from whom the HeLa cells were taken.

The science part is . . . interesting, but not fascinating. Like, it's okay, and I'm glad I read it. It was magazine-article interesting.

The Lacks family part . . . it's only sort of interesting as well. Poor black family from the south, and some of the members of the later generations clearly have mental issues. (Which may or may not be related to the fact that cousins married cousins. I thought it was determined that cousin-on-cousin love is actually not that big a deal? No? I was not as appalled as I apparently was supposed to be.) Hardworking mother who has a jillion kids! Dad who drinks and slaps the wife around! Molesting uncle! It's like a Toni Morrison novel without the poetry.

I don't mean to make light of their situation -- it's compelling to them, and to the author, who came to be so personally embroiled in their lives. But narratively speaking, I don't think their story is actually too interesting. And when you come down to it, their troubles had NOTHING to do with the HeLa cells. Nothing whatsoever. They thought they were -- because they're ignorant and uneducated (I don't intend either of those descriptors to be insulting, it's not actually their fault that they are uneducated and ignorant,) and because they have been screwed by the system in general, being poor and black. But whether or not their mother's cancer cells had turned out to be immortal, their lives would not have been different.

Lacks's sons are convinced that they are owed money because of these cells, but the original researcher charged nothing for their distribution; he was just super-hyped that he had found these things. Later, other labs produced HeLa cells on a massive scale, and you can purchase them for research -- but is the Lacks family entitled to any of that profit? The author doesn't seem to think so, as sympathetic as she is to the family, because she didn't try to convince me. So, sorry, guys. I do think that you are entitled to health care, but that has nothing to do with the fact that your mother changed scientific research as we know it; it has to do with the fact that you are human beings.

One last thought, and that's regarding the mental issues I mentioned above -- clearly, Deborah and Zakariyya [oh man, I wanted to KILL the narrator for pronouncing it "za-KAH-ree-yah" until it was explained, 3/4 of the way through, that that's the way he pronounces it] [she did keep pronouncing in situ incorrectly, though, as far as I know, and that made drove me crazy as well] are mentally ill to some degree, and whenever that was made clear, it made me feel . . . uncomfortable. As though they were being exploited for their entertainment value. The author tries to treat them with respect, and I'm not sure what she should have done differently, I just . . . I dunno. It made me feel dirty.

Anyway. There you have it. I didn't NOT like it, I just didn't see what all the fuss was about. ...more

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May 29, 2010 Sharon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: vintage, history

I used the word crazy about 10 times to describe this book to Scott. If ignorance is bliss, a completely unknown world exists in the health sciences and disease/drug research and exploration. I have to say my heart goes out to Lacks family for dealing with the effects of a decision made long ago without their consent. A truly fascinating read that reminds you that truth is often stranger the fiction. I am glad to have learned more about the real HeLa, Henrietta Lacks. Thanks Kyes for the recomme ...more

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Nov 08, 2011 pianogal rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, sb-book-club

This one was good. I'm not sure it was quite as good as everyone said it was, but the story did pull you in. Christoph was my favorite character, mostly b/c he was the only one in the medical field who even acknowledged what Henrietta did and what was done to her. Plus, he took time out of his day to explain it to her children and at least give them the knowledge of what their mother did.

I had (have) a HUGE problem with the fact that multiple companies made BILLIONS (with a B) of dollars of a ce ...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Melissa Wiebe rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, books-on-the-nightstand, new-york-times-book-review, 2011

Until this book, I had never heard of HeLa cells, but had obviously benefited from the research that has been done in the 60 years as a result of Henrietta Lacks' death and so have billions of people. The research that was able to develop the polio vaccine in the 1950s was the result of research done on HeLa cells, so was research HPV, HIV, cancer and a number of diseases that have only been able to be treatable and understood in the last 60 years. It is not only a story of the development of ce ...more

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Feb 16, 2010 Jeff Scott rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: race, african-american, non-fiction, medical

I didn't realize how much a patient's cells can be used without their permission until I read this book. The story of Henrietta Lacks is the story of patients' rights against the pursuit of scientific research. Her cells, taken from her cervix during a pap smear, led to scientific breakthroughs; modern medicine wouldn't be the same without them, but her family would never know about her contribution until decades later.

It's a parallel story, of the Lacks family and their struggle, after the deat I didn't realize how much a patient's cells can be used without their permission until I read this book. The story of Henrietta Lacks is the story of patients' rights against the pursuit of scientific research. Her cells, taken from her cervix during a pap smear, led to scientific breakthroughs; modern medicine wouldn't be the same without them, but her family would never know about her contribution until decades later.

It's a parallel story, of the Lacks family and their struggle, after the death of Henrietta to cancer, and the progress of science due to her miraculous cells. Cells that could reproduce daily, one of the few cell cultures that could do so at the time (a result of the cancer that would kill her.) Because of their longevity and ability to reproduce so quickly, more experiments could be performed on them. The family would also struggle with the notoriety attached to Henrietta and how the family cannot even afford health care, but billions of dollars were made by scientists with their discoveries and breakthroughs due to her cells.

It's an interesting story about patient's rights. How doctors could perform experiments or take cells without a patient's knowledge. It's something that is being challenged to this day as scientists need cells to conduct experiments and learn more about the human body, yet some do so for profit. Do people have rights to their own cells?

I found the scientific aspect of the book fascinating. The afterward details the history of patient's rights in the area. Increased rights were only recently given. The story of the Lacks family is very sad, especially how Henrietta's death affected the family. Most of her children were brought up by cousins, some of which were jealous of her and abused her children.

I felt the ending seemed to meander a bit. The author tells her own story about doing the research with the Lacks family and how difficult it was considering the family's previous exploitation by others. The Lacks were abused by the media, exploited for the stories, detailed in the book, and without any compensation. It seems like a story constantly repeated for others to profit, but nothing goes to them. I had trouble reading the book as I felt they were being exploited further. With all the media attention towards the Lacks family, and the possibility of a film being made, I wonder if this is just another round of that exploitation?
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Feb 24, 2010 Donna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-more-than-once, nonfiction, twisted-sisters

My last few reviews of nonfiction books contained the complaint that they needed good editors to smooth out the story and prevent ridiculous repetition. That's not the case here.

Skloot is an excellect story-teller with an excellent story to tell -- one that affects each an every one of us as scientific research continues to unfold without anyone being aware of what the outcome of that research will mean for any individual.

Skloot holds all of the story lines together and there are a lot of them: ...more

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Feb 28, 2010 Deb rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, medical, bipoc

I'm kind of a sucker for the medical human interest story--and this one did not disappoint. If you've listened to NPR at all in the last couple of years, you could hardly have missed this book or this story.
It's a fascinating read--cells are taken from a poor Black woman with cervical cancer in the 1950s without her or her family's knowledge. Those cells then become the first human cells to survive in culture, and their ability to thrive and multiply allow tremendous medical advances.

The heartb ...more

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Mar 23, 2010 Shrop rated it liked it · review of another edition

Fascinating mix of history, ethics, medical technology, and human interest. Lost a little speed toward the end, but I'm really glad to know about Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells. ...more

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Dec 20, 2010 Jenny rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: biographies-memiors

Really interesting, but the end of the book felt like it turned into a bio of Henrietta Lack's daughter. The afterward has really good info about tissue and gene patents and research. ...more

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