The true story of the woman whose cells changed medicine without her knowing
What it is about
In 1951 doctors took cells from Henrietta Lacks, a Black tobacco farmer, during her cancer treatment, without asking. Those HeLa cells became the first immortal human cell line and helped drive many medical advances. Skloot follows the science and the Lacks family, who knew nothing for decades.
Who will enjoy it
Readers who like science and history told through real people, and book clubs that enjoy an ethical debate.
What you will get
A gripping nonfiction story that reads like a novel. You will finish it knowing more about how medicine works, and about who pays for it.
Behind the book
The book won the 2010 Wellcome Trust Book Prize, and HBO turned it into a film that aired in April 2017.
Source: Wikipedia
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Nonfiction · Medicine · Ethics · Family
Length
381 pages · ≈ 11 h
More about this book
Characters
Henrietta Lacks, her daughter Deborah and the author.
Setting
Baltimore hospitals, labs and the tobacco country of Virginia.
What makes it different
Science writing that doubles as a family story.
Feel
Curious, moving and at times angry.
Being Mortal
When Breath Becomes Air
Educated
Into the Wild
The Glass Castle