Get Lost in a Book ReviewsThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
I met this author several years ago at an event in Des Moines. I thought the story was interesting at the time but for some reason this book has sat on my bookshelf for years. Finally, my book club chose it as our March book. I also think I was afraid it would be a dry boring book about science. It was not.
Most of what I read is fiction. This is a non-fiction book about Henrietta Lacks. She was a black woman who was a patient at Johns Hopkins in 1951. She developed cervical cancer. While they were treating her with radiation treatments, they collected samples of her tumor. They did collect them without her consent. Those cells from that cancer became known as HeLa cells. The name is derived from the first two letters of both her first and last name. It was meant to keep that information private from the public.
They did keep it private for many years. They also kept it private from her family that they had her cells.
The scientists at the time were looking for cells to experiment with. They needed to test on cells before they tested on humans. Most cells don’t live long enough to work well. That was until they discovered Henrietta’s cells. Her cancer cells thrived. They multiplied continuously providing exactly what the scientists were looking for. Her cells grew so fast that they could circle the earth several times. When you consider that a cell can only be viewed in a microscope, that is pretty amazing.
Her cells adapted and grew so well that they were able to produce six trillion a day. They were supplied to scientists around the world.
Those cells helped develop the polio vaccine, they helped with Aids research and other diseases. They also helped to find answers to cancer research. Her cells went into outer space, and they were used at nuclear test sites. Her cells are still being used for research today.
Henrietta came from a dirt-poor family. She married a cousin and they had five children. The first was born with epilepsy and ended up institutionalized when she was very young. We are introduced to each of her remaining children as the author tries to get their permission to write the book.
The story is told by the author as she researched and interviewed family, friends, doctors, scientists, and anyone who would talk to her. She visited where Henrietta lived and the story is compelling.
The family didn’t find out for years that their mother had contributed something so important to science. When they did find out, they wondered how that could happen. Here their mother was responsible for helping to save the world and they couldn’t afford health insurance.
The story is told in the family’s own words. They all had a hard life and Deborah, the main sibling who worked with the author seemed to suffer and worry the most. They were proud of what their mother had done but they felt cheated.
Someone probably did get wealthy, but it didn’t sound like the researchers did and definitely not Henrietta’s family.
It is a complex story, and I am sharing only some of the highlights of what the book is about. It dives deep into the human-interest part of the story. It reads like a memoir for Henrietta and her family.
I would recommend this to anyone who is curious about science and medical research.
Last year, my husband was diagnosed with colon cancer. That was one of the cancers that benefited from the HeLa cell. I read this book after he’d had his surgery and gone through all his chemo treatments. He is now doing the five-year follow-up care. I don’t think I could have read this book while he was going through all that last year but now that he is better this was probably the best time for me to read it.
I started this review asking why I had waited so long to read this book, and I think it was because I needed to read it now.
First published February 2, 2010.
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
What I am currently reading:
Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson
Look Closer by David Ellis
Fierce on the Page by Sage Cohen
I do have a used book shop where I sell some of my previous read books. Check it out at:
https//pangobooks.com/bookstore/virginia468417
Happy Reading!
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Wendy
wendythedruid
GrrlScientist ⧖ Ⓥ 
