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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

A True Story of Scientific Discovery, Questionable Ethics, and a Family's Fight for Truth

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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Written by: Rebecca Skloot
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
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About this listen

A heartbreaking account of a medical miracle: how one woman’s cells – taken without her knowledge – have saved countless lives. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a true story of race, class, injustice and exploitation.

‘No dead woman has done more for the living . . . A fascinating, harrowing, necessary book.’ – Hilary Mantel, Guardian

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. Born a poor black tobacco farmer, her cancer cells – taken without her knowledge – became a multimillion-dollar industry and one of the most important tools in medicine. Yet Henrietta’s family did not learn of her ‘immortality’ until more than twenty years after her death, with devastating consequences . . .

Rebecca Skloot’s moving account is the story of the life, and afterlife, of one woman who changed the medical world forever. Balancing the beauty and drama of scientific discovery with dark questions about who owns the stuff our bodies are made of, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is an extraordinary journey in search of the soul and story of a real woman, whose cells live on today in all four corners of the world.

Now an HBO film starring Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne.

©2009 Rebecca Skloot (P)2010 Random House, inc African American Studies Americas Biological Sciences Black & African American Medicine & Health Care Industry Professionals & Academics Racism & Discrimination Science Science & Technology Leaders Social Sciences Specific Demographics United States
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a gripping and emotional story. the story has been narrated in a very engaging manner.

gripping and emotional

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This story deserves to be read or heard by the world. Breathtaking writing, stellar narration.

A poignant tale of science and humanity

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I loved how the story unravels and ends! For a fiction lover like me, I found this biography to be more interesting, thanks to the author Rebecca Skloot! The effort taken by her to keep the reader engaged and glued to the book rather than getting bored is really appreciable! I simply loved the narrators Cassandra Campbell and Bonnie ! Their voices actually bring life to the characters which make you feel yourself being a part of the story!

A great biography

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This is an important read for scientists out there to understand how doing science sometimes can totally erase the people behind it, the story and the pain of the samples we work with and the discoveries made because of those people. Its an important one for non-science folks too because it really makes you think about patient consent and genetic privacy and how science is so much more than just lab and experiments.. The story of Henrietta Lacks and her family who are behind the famous cell line that changed the science and cancer research is truly heartbreaking, I cried thinking of what Henrietta and Elsie went through and what the whole family went through living with their loss. The book also describes how badly and deeply racial discrimination affects black people from getting a proper health care. It truly highlights how the doctors whatever their ethnicity or race is must be trained to know patients and their way of life while treating them to give them the best possible care . Recommend it a lot

IMPORTANT IMPORTANT

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Eye opening for me. Very well written. Kept me going.... i appreciate the author's effort to bring recognition to the family who were kept in dark for so long.
However, there is one mistake I noticed .....when author goes to meet Zacharia with Barbara and her grandsons, she asks them if they know about their "uncle"
It should be "granduncle" right??

Intention and authenticity of the author.

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