Read: June 18, 2015
Summary: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of the HeLa cells and its contributions to science alongside the family stories about and related to Henrietta Lacks. Henrietta Lacks, a poor Southern tobacco farmer, unknowingly has her cells taken which still live many years after her death. Her cells contributed to many things in science including developing the polio vaccine and advancements in in-vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping. Although the cells have been bought and sold by the billions, Henrietta Lacks was buried in an unmarked grave and her family remained underprivileged.
My Thoughts: Overall, I found this book interesting. As I don’t typically read science or biography related books, I found the story an interesting one. It was tedious to read in some spots and I was reading it a lot more slowly. Some of the information I’ve read has stuck with me and have cropped up in conversations. I did look up information on the author, Rebecca Skloot, and the family and found many websites about the cells Henrietta Lacks donated which included a link to the Henrietta Lacks Foundation website.
