The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, History, Nonfiction, Science & Math
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, History, Nonfiction, Science & Math
Book Type: Hardcover
Helpful Score: 1
One of the best books I've read in a while. This book covers race issues, our class society, and medical ethics without every making any one of those issues the real heart of the book.
The real heart of the book is Deborah Lacks, Henrietta's daughter. The reader gets to know Deborah and see what it feels like to learn that her mother's cells were harvested without her knowledge. As a poor uneducated woman in the inner city of Baltimore, Deborah struggles to understand the science behind her mother's cell lines, as well as the spiritual implications it might have for her mother. She tries to reconcile the good her mother's cells have done for the world with the fact that her own family can't afford health care.
The book also highlights the fact that while Henrietta had remarkable cells, the fact that her cells were harvested is not unusual. We all have cells out there, somewhere, that may be used for scientific research at any given time. Should we be able to claim ownership over these cells, or are we better off letting things remain the way they are with cells belonging to the scientific community to be used for the common good?
It's been weeks since I read this book, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about Deborah or the ethics behind cell research since. You won't regret reading this, I promise.
The real heart of the book is Deborah Lacks, Henrietta's daughter. The reader gets to know Deborah and see what it feels like to learn that her mother's cells were harvested without her knowledge. As a poor uneducated woman in the inner city of Baltimore, Deborah struggles to understand the science behind her mother's cell lines, as well as the spiritual implications it might have for her mother. She tries to reconcile the good her mother's cells have done for the world with the fact that her own family can't afford health care.
The book also highlights the fact that while Henrietta had remarkable cells, the fact that her cells were harvested is not unusual. We all have cells out there, somewhere, that may be used for scientific research at any given time. Should we be able to claim ownership over these cells, or are we better off letting things remain the way they are with cells belonging to the scientific community to be used for the common good?
It's been weeks since I read this book, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about Deborah or the ethics behind cell research since. You won't regret reading this, I promise.
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