Thursday, May 24, 2012

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

I picked up The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks because I had heard good things about it. I was not disappointed.
For those who don't know, Henrietta Lacks was a woman in the 50's. She had an agressive form of cervical cancer. Unbeknownst to her, doctors at John Hopskins took some of her cells and used those cells to study cancer, HIV, polio, and countless other illnesses. Her family had no idea that her cells were being used for research and to make new drugs. Skloot took great pains to learn about Henrietta from her family and try to recreate as much of Henrietta's life as she could. This is unlike so many nonfiction books. This is the kind of nonfiction you want to read. It's deeply engaging. Skloot makes the Lacks family jump off the page. I could really feel for the Lacks. I deeply admire Henrietta's contribution to science. I'm sad that she nor her family were informed or asked about her donation.
I really enjoyed learning about Henrietta. I also enjoyed learning about how her cells contributed to advances in science. I would really recommend The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to anyone. Others who shared their thoughts about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Lit and Life, My Books. My Life, Olduvai Reads, and Take Me Away.

2 comments:

  1. I will be reading this one at some point. Every one who has read it has found it fascinating and I don't like feeling left out!!

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  2. Every since I first heard about this one I knew it'd be something that I'd really enjoy. Of course, I've yet to find the time to actually pick it up, but I'm sure eventually that will happen.

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