The+Immortal+Life+of+Henrietta+Lacks

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance.

Soon to be made into an HBO movie by Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball, this //New York Times// bestseller takes readers on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers filled with HeLa cells, from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia, to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells. //The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks// tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew. It’s a story inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we’re made of. (From RebeccaSkloot.com)




 * Student Reviews:**

"This book recounts the fascinating story of a woman whose cells changed the world and provided a medical miracle. The book is exciting throughout as it jumps from generation to generation in this true story. The book is further enriched by the use of the author as the reporter of Mrs. Lacks' story. The book includes quite a bit of medical jargon, which can complicate understanding at times, but the author elaborates well enough that even someone with no medical background can understand. This book is definitely worth reading because it reveals information about science and medicine that people who have no medical ties would probably never learn." ~Courtney Colson (GCHS senior, 2014)

"This book is a more difficult read but I highly recommend it for anyone going into the medical or research fields. The medial language will require some research on your part, but I recommend asking Mrs. Lewis about this book as it is one of her favorites!" ~Kayla Hisel (GCHS senior, 2014)