The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca SklootMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A fascinating look at a fascinating woman, perfectly told by a wonderful author.
A woman whose cancerous cells turn out to be "immortal" pave the way in countless laboratories for generations, helping to heal,test and even cure sickness and disease. She's the mother of untold breakthrough, a standard for the scientific community and yet.....no one even knows her name. No one in her family even knew what was going on with her cells until years later.
Skloot delves deep in to medical history to uncover the unsung hero of much of our modern health advancements, one whom the world doesn't even know by the proper name. Weaving together the narrative of science, medical ethics and the life of Mrs. Lacks, Rebecca Skloot manages to bring a piercing piece o four American history in to focus while keeping the dignity of the family involved. Respectful, open and honest, with lots of "whaaaaat?" moments. I sometimes forgot that this was non-fiction because of the twists and turns the Lacks family went through simply to get their mother recognized as a person and human being deserving of respect. This entire case and book, opens up the questions of where we stand as people versus medical law right down to legal ownership of our body/parts.
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