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)

Great book!!

This book was amazingly constructed from beginning to end. The narrators did a wonderful job with their voices making it feel like the actual people were speaking. Great surprise interview at the end with the author.Must read!

A must read!;

Excellent writing as well as tone and inflection in the reading of this book. I recommend this as a must read for everyone.

Fantastic

One of the best performances I have listened to on audible. Great story too.
Loaded with ethical questions.

Great Read

Would you listen to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks again? Why?

Yes because I know I probably could learn even more.

What other book might you compare The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to and why?

Nothing has compared to this for me

Have you listened to any of Cassandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not sure

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

So many

The story was okay.

The book was slow and jumped around alot. I really didn't start to like it till the end. It's also hard to get into in the beginning when I don't agree with her argument.

I didn’t know about HELA cells . . .

What did you love best about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks?

The narration is superb, and the story of Henrietta Lacks, her family, and the fate of her cells (known as HELA to the science community) are compelling. I didn’t know about HELA cells or Henrietta Lacks’ life story before listening to this book. Apparently, most of the world hadn’t heard of Henrietta either, despite her enormous contribution to medical research. Ms. Skloot tells the story of Henrietta, a black woman living in poverty during the 1950’s; she is sick and unable to pay for health care. While receiving treatment at John Hopkins, her cells are taken for research without her consent or knowledge. The cells become responsible for countless medical breakthroughs for diseases such as cancer, polio and more. The results are immeasurable, yet it isn’t until years later her identity is revealed. As the author recounts this story, she touches upon controversial topics such race and ethics in the medical community. The author does a terrific job of describing the medical jargon in simple layman’s terms while keeping the story interesting and thought provoking. It would make an excellent book club choice and will surely spur a lively discussion with your group.

Educational

This book is so informative I couldn't put it down. I realized that in the early 19 century up until 1970s 80s doctors were above the law and this poor uneducated family suffered

<3 <3 <3 LOVE LOVE LOVE

Never thought I could get so emotional over science. It's a wonderful, complicated, saddening story that EVERYONE should know.

WOW

Where does The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

one of the best

Which scene was your favorite?

When they went and learned about the sister who had been placed in a mental institution

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

it was very powerful, and historic

Surprisingly engaging

This book covers not only Henrietta and her cells, but a whole context of what medical research was like at the time, the effects it all had on her family, and the struggle to find out information and piece it all together.