The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

by Rebecca Skloot

400 pages

This non-fiction book tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, whose cancerous cervical cells were taken legally but without her permission. They were amazingly resilient cells that began to grow in the lab when all other cells failed. They were sent to labs all over the world and helped scientists make all kinds of discoveries - including some that made millions of dollars. Her family continued to live in poverty and without health insurance. Rebecca Skloot began researching Henrietta Lacks, but the Lacks family disapproved because they had a distrust of science, medicine, and journalists based on their earlier experiences. The book is the story of how Rebecca was able to win the family's confidence and dig up information on Henrietta's life and family.