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)

very good book

loved this story at times I could visualize myself there with them. I really enjoyed this story.

Captivating

This was a captivating story that informed my understanding of tissue culture. Beautifully written book.

Amazing story,

This was an amazing story and written in a way that grabbed my attention from start to finish.

The family of HeLa

scientists used to use whatever they could get their hands on, which meant using those who don't know any better. some of those people were black, thus black people were subject to experimentation. a woman who had part of her tumor experimented on after it was removed from her body died. the results of the experiments made people money, though not the ones connected with those who cut out part of the tumor. the family is upset they didn't get a cut. some wanted a cut of the medical care brought about by the experiments. some want a cut of the knowledge. some want a cut of the profits. all are upset. someone decided to use the knowledge that they gained in medical school to write this story. teachers like to assign the story for their classes.

Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks

Excellent story! I had no idea what a miracle this was and how important to all of mankind. That this is a true story is both very sad yet very miraculous!

Henrietta Lacks

I read this book several years ago and thought that was amazing. The topic was very upsetting.
I am now a patient at Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore, when I saw the book on Audible I immediately ordered it and glad that I did.
I would recommend this book to anyone,
it is such an eye opener as to what is done to us without our knowledge.
I can't believe how the black people were treated in the time of this book, as far as medical treatment was concerned.
My husband worked at the Orphiem Theater where Rebecca Skloot talked about this book and the passion she had to bring out what had happened to Henrietta Lacks

Back to Medical School

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

This is a story about discoveries in science leaking through the social fabric of America in the 1950's. This is a social science and science book all rapped into one great story that has effected the whole world.

What did you like best about this story?

The best aspect of the book was the story itself. The rest is now science, but you will no longer be able to separate the two!

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

No

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

The fear that Ms Rebecca rejected in return for her social science education. Ms Rebecca will never be the same, for the rest of her life, child. Amen!

Any additional comments?

I will listen again in the future and study the friendship and emotions exchanged in this journey for Debra and Rebecca.

Can't stop talking about this book!

One of the most memorable, educational, and discussion-provoking works of non-fiction I've come across in a long time.

Amazing Story!

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

I have not read the printed version. The audio version was excellent!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks?

When Deb and Rebecca learned about Elsie Lacks.

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

Excellent! Job well done ladies!

Fantastic book!

This was a very moving book. I was concerned that the technical nature of the subject would take away from the story, but that was not the case.