Readers Book Discussion -- February 15, 2023

The Readers chose The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, for their February selection. The book is a work of nonfiction that tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, "a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells - taken without her knowledge in 1951 - became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance."

Henrietta Lacks made the nearly twenty mile trip to the Johns Hopkins gynecology clinic, the nearest hospital that would treat black patients, because she had a lump in her cervix. There, it was discovered that Henrietta had cervical cancer. During her initial radium treatment, and without her permission, two dime-sized pieces were shaved from her cervix, one from the tumor, and one from healthy tissue. As Henrietta battled cancer, her cells grew in a laboratory like no cells had ever done before. 

Rebecca Skloot, the author, was fascinated by the story of Henrietta and decided to write a book about her. Through dogged perseverance, she got to know the people in Henrietta's life and learned her story. The readers found the entire book fascinating. It was an eye-opening story about the medical journey and the ethics behind it. They loved the way Rebecca Skloot immersed herself into the story, becoming friends with Deborah, Henrietta's daughter. They felt the story was told with an unbiased voice, telling both sides of the story in a factual, not judgmental, way. If the group had anything negative at all to say about the story, it was that it was not one that could be read cover to cover without breaks. The science aspect of it would sometimes become a little tedious. But all in all, it was a fantastic story that needed to be told, and it earned a strong 4.3 stars out of a possible 5 from the group.