The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot (read by Cassandra Campbell)
You've probably heard of this book. I certainly had, which is why I picked it up when I saw the audiobook on our shelves. It came out in 2010 and became fairly famous fairly fast, so of course I didn't get around to reading (well, "reading") it until this year.
It's certainly very compelling. The book traces the first "immortal" line of human cells, cells that just keep dividing and dividing, back to their origin in the cervix of a poor black woman named Henrietta Lacks. I'm not much of a science reader, but The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks isn't just about the science behind the HeLa cells; it's also, and perhaps primarily, about Henrietta Lacks and her family, especially her daughter Deborah. It's far more a history text than it is a science one, and when it is a science text, it's a very pop science approach. It's very understandable, but as a result it doesn't go into much depth as to the scientific applications of the HeLa cells. If you're looking for a scientific study of the cell line, this is not that book.
Instead, it's more of a family history. Skloot begins with her own discovery of Henrietta Lacks' identity in a college science class. She then interweaves the story of her own attempt to contact the Lacks family with Henrietta's story, from her first diagnosis to her death, and then with the story of the cells and the story of the Lacks family after Henrietta's death. Henrietta's cells spawned a multimillion dollar industry, but her family could never afford health insurance. Skloot is very clear about the irony. There's also a thread about the development of informed consent, and another about Henrietta's daughter Deborah Lacks, who never learned about her mother. Skloot centers her story on Deborah's journey of discovery along with Skloot herself as they learn about Henrietta's life and afterlife.
It's a great book. I would definitely recommend it to everyone: for Deborah's story, for the story of medical injustices, and for Henrietta herself, who deserves to be remembered.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/395498.html. Please comment over there if possible.
It's certainly very compelling. The book traces the first "immortal" line of human cells, cells that just keep dividing and dividing, back to their origin in the cervix of a poor black woman named Henrietta Lacks. I'm not much of a science reader, but The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks isn't just about the science behind the HeLa cells; it's also, and perhaps primarily, about Henrietta Lacks and her family, especially her daughter Deborah. It's far more a history text than it is a science one, and when it is a science text, it's a very pop science approach. It's very understandable, but as a result it doesn't go into much depth as to the scientific applications of the HeLa cells. If you're looking for a scientific study of the cell line, this is not that book.
Instead, it's more of a family history. Skloot begins with her own discovery of Henrietta Lacks' identity in a college science class. She then interweaves the story of her own attempt to contact the Lacks family with Henrietta's story, from her first diagnosis to her death, and then with the story of the cells and the story of the Lacks family after Henrietta's death. Henrietta's cells spawned a multimillion dollar industry, but her family could never afford health insurance. Skloot is very clear about the irony. There's also a thread about the development of informed consent, and another about Henrietta's daughter Deborah Lacks, who never learned about her mother. Skloot centers her story on Deborah's journey of discovery along with Skloot herself as they learn about Henrietta's life and afterlife.
It's a great book. I would definitely recommend it to everyone: for Deborah's story, for the story of medical injustices, and for Henrietta herself, who deserves to be remembered.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/395498.html. Please comment over there if possible.