The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

By: Rebecca Skloot

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Bahni Turpin

Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Number one New York Times best seller.

Now a major motion picture from HBO® starring Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne.

One of the “most influential” (CNN), “defining” (Lit Hub), and “best” (The Philadelphia Inquirer) books of the decade.

One of essence’s 50 most impactful Black books of the past 50 years.

Named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, O: The Oprah Magazine, NPR, Financial Times, New York, Independent (UK), Times (UK), Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Globe, and Mail.

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells - taken without her knowledge - became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than 60 years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than 20 years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family - past and present - is 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 are made of.

Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family - especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance? Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.

©2010 Rebecca Skloot (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

Winner of The Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for nonfiction

"The story of modern medicine and bioethics - and, indeed, race relations - is refracted beautifully, and movingly.” (Entertainment Weekly)

"Writing with a novelist's artistry, a biologist's expertise, and the zeal of an investigative reporter, Skloot tells a truly astonishing story of racism and poverty, science and conscience, spirituality and family driven by a galvanizing inquiry into the sanctity of the body and the very nature of the life force." (

Booklist)

amazing!

I was hooked from the first sentence. A great combo of the science and the woman.

A must for the biomedical scientist

This book narrates the amazing story behind HeLa cells. The ethical, technical, scientific and humane aspects of the story are well balanced and prompts to reflection. I really recommend it to anyone interested in modern biology and science history. More than anything, I realized the terribly high price that a few had to pay for all our modern technology.

great book

great book. great story telling. hard to put the book down at any moment. very well-researched. I feel very appreciative to have learned about the amazing story of Henrietta and her children. I feel like with this book not only her but her family's memory is immortalized.

Wonderful Beautifully Written Story

As a medical doctor with a biochemistry background, I had heard of "Hela" cells but had no clue as to the origin of the name. The story is beautifully written. It is very informative and a true "page turner". The reader is exceptional. Even without the scientific/medical setting, the story is amazing. Ethics & legal concerns are appropriately addressed. In would recommend the book to anyone, regardless of background. The story & writing are exceptionally composed.

insightful Emotional Must Read

Every patient, doctor, medical researcher needs to read and become familiar with the humanity that is the underlying premise of their unknowing but intertwined relationship. An unexpected success that you cant put down once you begin reading this very special treatise.

very well written

This was a very good book I highly recommend it. What this woman and her family went through was awful. they deserved so much more

amazing story

what an amazing story! I feel as if prior to the story I was uninformed my entire life. science is amazing but also quite life changing!

Great book

This book is a great story of science and how science affects people. I learned so much reading this book about Henrietta, her family, science, and the research and money that goes into this industry. Thank you for taking the time to tell her and Debra’s story.

What are we agreeing to when we visit the doctor?

Would you consider the audio edition of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to be better than the print version?

This book brought tears and gratefulness to tragic story for a family but progress to a nation medically. However, I can't help but wonder would this had happened if Henrietta was a white women? Why was it alright and why did it take so long for her to acknowledged?

Who was your favorite character and why?

Deborah, she was a little girl who lost her mother and a grown woman who struggled because of that loss.

Three stories in one, and all are compelling.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is at the top of my list for audiobook recommendations. It's easy to follow, well performed, and fascinating. There is the science story - the quest for, the prolific growth of, and the business of immortal cells. A human story - children discovering that part of their mother lives on. The author's quest - to reveal the life behind the immortal cells and to lay out the ethical breaches in their history. It's a few months since I finished listening and it has stayed with me more than most books.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Rebecca Skloot, the author. She did a great job of talking about what she was doing without giving the impression that the book was about her. Her persistence is remarkable.

What about Cassandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin ’s performance did you like?

Cassandra Campbell has a good reading voice and pacing. Having Bahni Turpin read some of the dialogue made an easy division between narration and characters. I wish more audiobooks would make use of multiple readers.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No; it was too long. However, I found it easy to pick up where I left off.