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    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

    Written by Rebecca Skloot

    Narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Now a major motion picture from HBO® starring Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne.

    Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells-taken without her knowledge-became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first "immortal" human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they'd weigh more than 50 million metric tons-as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb's effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.

    Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

    Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the "colored" ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta's small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia-a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo-to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells.

    Henrietta's family did not learn of her "immortality" until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family-past and present-is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.

    Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family-especially Henrietta's daughter Deborah, who was devastated to learn about her mother's cells. She was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Did it hurt her when researchers infected her cells with viruses and shot them into space? What happened to her sister, Elsie, who died in a mental institution at the age of fifteen? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn't her children afford health insurance?

    Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.

    Editor's Note

    Rocked the scientific community…

    “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” is the powerful true story of the woman who spawned a medical revolution. Skloot seamlessly weaves the stories of Henrietta’s life, her cells which rocked the scientific community, and a family struggling to cope with her mother’s immortality.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateFeb 2, 2010
    ISBN9780307712516
    Unavailable
    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
    Author

    Rebecca Skloot

    Rebecca Skloot is an award-winning science writer whose articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine; O, The Oprah Magazine; Discover; Prevention; Glamour; and others. She has worked as a correspondent for NPR’s Radiolab and PBS’s NOVAscienceNOW, and is a contributing editor at Popular Science magazine and guest editor of The Best AmericanScience Writing 2011. Her work has been anthologized in several collections, including The Best Creative Nonfiction. She is a former vice president of the National Book Critics Circle, and has taught creative non-fiction and science journalism at the University of Memphis, the University of Pittsburgh, and New York University. She lives in Chicago. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is her first book. It is being translated into more than twenty languages and adapted into an HBO film produced by Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball. For more information, visit her website at RebeccaSkloot.com, where you’ll find links to follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

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    Reviews for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

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    • 5/5
      This modern-day classic has become a must read in many schools, especially in the science department and ethics classes.
    • 4/5
      In 1951, Henrietta Lacks died of cancer. Her doctors at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore took samples of her cancerous tissue which were instrumental in the development of many treatments for several diseases by nature of their extreme profligacy and imperviousness. However, Lacks' life and family were almost completely ignored by those who profited from her body. Rebecca Skloot attempts to recapture the humanity of Lacks' story and hopefully give her family some closure. Although Skloot sometimes comes off a little white-savior-y, this book is important in exposing the world to both the remarkable discoveries scientists were able to make as the result of Henrietta's "donation" and the real human life behind the HeLa cells that made this possible. I'd have liked to have seen an afterword or something confirming Skloot's donation of at least part of the royalties from this book to Henrietta's family but that's sadly lacking. It seems white people continue to profit off the sacrifices of black bodies, and though part of the purpose of this book is to expose that very thing, one can't help but wonder whether it also contributes to that practice.
    • 5/5
      I'm three years behind but the hype was well deserved. Anyone who's sat through an introductory biology course has likely heard of the HeLa immortal cell line, used in numerous piles of research because tests can be conducted on cell culture instead of people to develop products. What's not as widely known (or wasn't) was that these cells were taking from Henrietta's tumor without her or her family's consent, developed into a research tool and eventually a commodity- a fact the family wasn't aware of until about 20 years later. Skloot weaves together the history of the HeLa cell line, the story of the Lacks family, and her ten year journey trying to piece together details about the woman behind the cells into a very readable narrative (it's been a while since I've had a book I absolutely could not put down). The afterward is a very succinct description of the state of bioethics re: tissue donation, and definitely a topic everyone should get to know.
    • 5/5
      One never knows how your life (or body) will impact generations to come. This is a story which plunges the reader right into an ethical question. Perhaps because I don’t lack for money, I sympathized with Lacks family but was so impressed with how research was made possible by her cancerous cells. At the same time, if a company is making money from her cells, shouldn’t the family be able to reap some of the benefits as well.
    • 2/5
      This book makes me a bit grumbly. After a decent start recounting the life of Henrietta Lacks and the genesis of the HeLa cell line, I got bogged down in the middle section as it seemed to jump around a bit too introducing a cast of thousands of scientists and Lacks. Then the third section seemed to be an entirely different book as the author ditched all pretense at objectivity and embedded herself into the Lacks family and their story.Having raised so many issues about ethics and remuneration for the Lacks family due to the profits so many have made from Henrietta's cell sample, Skloot seemed to turn the corner herself into exploitation as she fully inserted herself into the narrative. Much like tissue culture research, Skloot isn't legally obliged to pay the Lacks family a cent for their story. But once she mentions a scholarship fund she is setting up for the Lacks children's education, her book becomes part of the ethical quagmire she has been outlining for over 300 pages. She doesn't really mention what percentage of the book's earnings she is contributing to that fund, but I start thinking what would be ethical or fair or reasonable: 1%, 10%, 40%, more? How does one arbitrarily slap a number on something like this?In the end, this book is frustrating because it puts us in that gray area of what is ethical, what is legal, what is good for humanity as a whole, and what our gut tells us is fair for the individuals involved. There is no good answer to be had here, leaving me unsatisfied to the extreme.
    • 4/5
      Just started -- pretty gripping so far.
    • 5/5
      Detailed personal history of the life, death, and life-after-death of Henrietta Lacks. Told in a mix of first person (the biographer seeking out the information) and omniscient third person, this is at times a confronting story of one person's interaction with the medical establishment, and her family's inability to get useful information. Henrietta Lacks was poor, and Black, and neither of these things worked in her favour when she developed cervical cancer.This was an emotionally exhausting read, because other than the historian whose perspective we see from, many of the main players have/had very difficult lives.
    • 5/5
      Fascinating story of both the woman and her cells. Helped me understand the complexities of scientific research and genetics.
      Some parts were hard to read - awful what was done to people in the name of science
    • 5/5
      Blew through this book in one day; it got its hooks into me and didn't let go. Anyone who likes nonfiction should read this book. A complex story of race, ethics, science, law, and public opinion. Henrietta Lacks should be a household name, and we all owe her our gratitude.
    • 4/5
      This was a really good read and educational as well. It tells the story not just of the first line of immortal cells but also of the woman that they were taken from.

      Some of the so-called professionals involved do not come across well, especially the doctor who believing that cancer was caused either by a virus or by an immune system deficiency decided that the best way to prove this was by injecting people with cancer cells. The first dozen people he injected had already been treated for cancer and were not told that this is what he was doing, he told them he was running tests. When he decided to carry out the tests on healthy people he used prisoners who were told what he was injecting them with, when he carried out later tests again he did it without telling the patients what he was injecting into them, they were told that they were being tested for cancer the doctor's theory being that if their immune systems killed the cancerous cells that he had injected into them then there was no cancer present but if their immune system failed to kill the cells then they must have cancer. This only stopped when three doctors refused to inject elderly Jewish patients with the cells and then went public with what was happening. The doctor was eventually suspended from practising for a year but at no time did he or many of his colleagues think that they had done anything wrong. I don't understand the mindset that allows you to think that deliberately infecting people with cancer or hepatitis is the right thing to do in the interests of science.

      However there were some scientists who did come across well and who felt that Henrietta's family had been very badly treated. There are many people who have made fortunes from developments made possible using Henrietta's cells and yet her family can't afford medical insurance. I know that the drug companies and the biotech companies have no legal obligation to the Lacks family but given the amount of money that they have made from these cells it would be decent of them to at least set up a trust fund so that Henrietta's descendants could go to college if they wanted to or even get the medical treatment that they needed.
    • 4/5
      I'm uncomfortable with how far Skloot went in exposing the skeletons in the closet of the Lacks family- the incest and child abuse - at some point it overshadows the other braids of the story. It was like an Oprah show, compelling in the moment but perhaps ultimately ephemeral and forgettable, just another family disaster memoir for the sake of dollars. It clashes with the central theme of the book, the family's search for respect. Yet it is also understandably a fine balance on what to include and what to leave out. Overall I think she did a good job at showing the Lacks' to be human, and not simply a name on a test-tube, or in the case of some of her children, a body in an Asylum to be experimented on, or a prisoner in a cell. The Lacks family had it tough from the start, they are an abandoned people, without the support the rest of us take for granted. As important as the HeLa cell line is, this book is equally important in breaking through race and class barriers by showing with sympathy and respect how people become who they are. What an immortal legacy Henrietta left behind.This is her first book, but Skloot has written for years in The New York Times. She not only tells stories that are entertaining and educational, but help enact positive change with a sense of justice and righteousness for the underdog. For example her story "When Pets Attack" (2004) was so powerful it forced a change in the dog laws of New York City.
    • 5/5
      Five stars, with an exclamation point, underlined, and circled in red.
    • 4/5
      Henreitta Lacks is a young, black woman whose cancerous cells were harvested and grown without her consent in the 1940′s. At the times, this was standard practice, especially with black patients, who still saw doctors from segregated wards or not at all. Today, her cells have changed the world. As the first cells to survive and continually reproduce, her cells have been used to develop numerous vaccines and learn more about many crucial cellular functions. Unfortunately, her family never benefited from the massive commercialization of her cells, although this book is an attempt to change that.I admit, I approached this book expecting an entirely one-sided account, very anti-science. What I was most impressed with at the end was the even-handed treatment this topic received. Although it is clear that the family was treated poorly and with little compassion, it is less clear who should have what sort of rights to tissue samples taken at hospitals today. To help us see both sides of the issue, the author shares with us the opinions of many doctors and scientists on both side of the issue. The author clearly spent copious amounts of time interviewing the Lacks family and the specialists, because she seamlessly incorporates quotes from both into her narrative. In addition to learning about Henrietta, we get to know the backgrounds of many of the people who touched her life. These tangential background stories also melded seamlessly with the main story.The organization of the book was perfect, switching back and forth between the past and the present easily. A time line at the beginning of the chapter kept me from getting lost and the integration of Henrietta’s story and that of her cells helped keep the connection between the two at the front of my mind. The author also does an impressive job integrating the science behind Henrietta’s cells, with enough simple analogies that I could easily see how a book on a somewhat esoteric topic went main stream. Before wrapping up, I believe I should warn you that their were a few sexual assault scenes that totally caught my off guard but which were part of the family’s history. Other than that, what stood out to me most about this book was the incredibly diversity of topics covered. All of these topics – the family history, the family today, the science, the ethics issues, the lives of the researchers – were integrated extremely well and were always fascinating to read about.
    • 4/5
      This is a scientific, biographical book about a dead woman’s cells. It is important to note that this woman’s cells saved and is continuing to save millions of lives and that she is black woman (I hope Trump gets to benefit from her cells). As I said that it is scientific, full of science stuff but also full of emotion. I loved how it centered on Henrietta’s family especially Deborah. It gives you an idea on who Henrietta really is: she is not just a bunch of cells. She is someone’s mother, sister and wife. I’m recommending this to everybody!
    • 5/5
      At a bookstore on vacation (because that's how we roll), my twelve-year-old picked out this book. I was pleased, but argued that we already had a copy at home, he should pick something else. He insisted that he wanted to read it now -- while we were still on vacation. It was a used bookstore, it was only a few bucks, so I relented.A week or so later, he called me from Grandma's house. "Have you read the book yet?" he demanded. I took it off the shelf.This book slayed me. From the aftermath of slavery/reconstruction/Jim Crow, to that idea common enough in mid-century that the doctor was the authority and it really wasn't that important if the patient understood their diagnosis or treatment, to the shame and silence that surrounded disease, especially cancer, and still much later -- mental illness, to the ways that black communities have been both intentionally and disinterestedly sidelined into inferior housing, jobs, services...I could go on and on.And on.This book deserves all the hype, what Skloot went through to get this story -- what the family went through to share it! The bravery it must have taken to open up after being taken advantage of over and over again. And the totally amazing healing that sometimes snuck through.Full of so many revelations that will make your jaw literally drop, then turn to find the next any person to share your amazement with.Five-star non-fiction.
    • 5/5
      What a gripping, compelling story. A black American woman's early death caused by an unusually aggressive cancer, samples of which, when cultured, precipitate scientific and medical advancements that are so great and profound that they have affected nearly every person alive today in one way or another. But that's only part of the story, for Henrietta Lacks' family was kept ignorant of her contribution by the medical establishment of the 1950s and later, and are only now coming to grips with the events that occurred long ago. This is a story of family as well as science, and how the two have interacted on a deeply personal level in a way that probably no other American family has experienced.
    • 5/5
      I was told this book was amazing by practically every person in the world it seemed like. So I started it...a year ago. I finally forced myself to finish it. I did find it a little hard to get into, but that is probably me and my not wanting to give into the hype of it, after all Oprah was making it into a movie. I was wrong to drag my feet, it is 100% worth all the hype and then some. The science, which I thought would be boring was actually VERY interesting and quite insightful. The human side of the story was riveting!! Her poor family and all they endured, from some cells! You'd think they were overreacting if someone just told you about it, but you couldn't be more wrong. The way their mother, her cancer, her cells, and her legacy effected the entire family is still being felt today. I urge everyone to read this book, chances are you are already familiar with Henrietta and her cells.
    • 4/5
      Engaging, thoughtful and phenomenal book that examines the life and family of Henrietta Lacks, the woman behind the HeLa immortal cells, and the explosion of scientific advancement that occurs with their discovery. The cells were taken from Henrietta's cervical cancer cells in 1951 but her family did not learn about their impact until more than 20 years later. This book is informative and easy-to-read science writing woven in with the personal experiences of the author as she researches about this incredible woman and her impact on society. Rebecca Skloot's debut is a fascinating look at medicinal research, bioethics, and race relations. The Lacks family, namely Deborah, Henrietta's second daughter, is brought to memorable life through Skloot's narrative abilities. Would recommend this book for those who are interested in a contemplative look at informed consent and medicine.
    • 5/5
      I really loved this -- I know the author struggled a lot to find a structure that would work, but I think in the end it worked magnificently. There was the perfect balance of scientific/educational fact and human interest, and I really, really would like to know more about the current state of HeLa research. I also kindof want to go read some case law about the property rights and patents in tissues and cells, but that's the geeky lawyer in me who wishes she practiced intellectual property law.
    • 5/5
      In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a poor, black tobacco farmer and mother of five, sought treatment for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins. In the course of her treatment, without seeking consent, doctors took cells from her tumor for research unrelated to her treatment.

      The HeLa cell line became the first immortal human cell line, and the basis for numerous major medical and scientific breakthroughs. Her husband and children didn't find out about this until twenty years after her death, and when they did, it changed their lives.

      In alternating chapters, Rebecca Skloot tells the story of Henrietta, her illness, and her family's struggles in the years following, and her own research into the woman behind the cell line, including meeting her family and developing a friendship and partnership with Henrietta's daughter Debra. We learn the importance of the HeLa cell line, the research whose results we all benefit from today. We learn about the family, hardworking, battling poverty and lack of education, deeply affected by the loss of Henrietta--and without health insurance while the HeLa cells went on to be a multi-million dollar industry.

      Skloot explores not just the experiences of the family, but also the medical ethics issues involved and how medical ethics evolved in part in response to the ramifications of the HeLa cells, and in part in response to other social changes. At the time, doctors at research and teaching hospitals routinely took samples from patients for research without seeking consent. The Tuskegee syphilis experiment, begun in 1932, would continue for another two decades after Henrietta's death, until 1972. Even now, with better, stronger informed consent rules and procedures, it's nearly impossible for patients to either have any control over what happens to their tissues after removal, or to derive any financial benefit if, like HeLa, they become very, very profitable. This book includes a very thoughtful exploration of why patients have so far been denied that input and control, and how the current rules do and do not benefit science. It's a complex issue, or rather set of issues, and the book would be worthwhile if only for this discussion of the human and scientific ramifications of these questions.

      Yet that's a small part of the story here, and Henrietta's experiences in the late forties and early fifties, juxtaposed with the experiences of her children, especially her daughter Debra, and of Rebecca Skloot as she does her research, decades later, make for a deeply moving and compelling story.

      The audio edition includes an interview with Rebecca Skloot.

      Highly recommended.

      I borrowed this book from the library.
    • 3/5
      Eye opening and fascinating.
    • 4/5
      I really liked this book though it took me a long time to finish it. I appreciated the author's ability to make the scientific portions of the book readable and enjoyable for a person like myself who has no background in science. As an attorney, I was super interested in the legal aspects involving patient confidentiality and who owns human tissues. I also found the personal story of Lacks family to be endearing and well written. Overall I was incredibly pleased with this book and I have already recommended it to several of my friends.
    • 5/5
      Oh My I Could Hardly Put This Down! This story is most definitely going to stay with me for a very long time.

      Henrietta Lacks was a young Black woman who was being treated for cancer @ the Johns Hopkins Hospital, back in 1951. Her doctor, a world famous cancer specialist took samples of her uterus cells, both normal & cancerous. He passed those cells (called HeLa) on to a scientist by the name of George Gey, who was experimenting with growing "immortal" human cells for medicinal experimentation. While the "normal" HeLa cells dies, the ones from the tumor flourished and grew, and grew...and are still growing. HeLa cells became world famous and were sold to most any scientist who was experimenting with disease for about $10 and S&H. HeLa cells were used to test the Salk vaccine......

      This story, which is not merely one of science & medical research, but one of a lovely woman & her family broke my heart. From the stand point of Henrietta's family they were owed much and endured more....but as I read on, I saw that the love within the family was strong & carries over to present time.

      The one thing that bothers me to no end and causes me sadness is the fact that no one told the family until years later....and that to this day, the medical community has gained millions/billions of dollars in profit from Henrietta's cells, but no restitution for the remaining family what-so-ever.

      This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read, and it is one I will add to my personal library.
    • 3/5
      Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman who developed cervical cancer. While undergoing treatment at Johns Hopkins, doctors removed some of the cancer cells to try to grow them in the laboratory. These cells flourished and multiplied, and for the first time scientists were able to grow human cells in the lab. These were called Hela cells, and they have been called one of the most important developments in medical history.Henrietta died in 1951, but today there are millions and millions of her cells alive and growing around the world. Her cells have been into space, and they were used to develop the polio vaccine and various chemotherapies.This book tells the story of Henrietta's short life, and describes the process by which her cells were harvested, grown in the lab, commercialized and exploited. It also tells about her family discovering more than 20 years after her death that her cells were still alive and being used (and sold) around the world. Finally, the author tells of her own experiences, when she first learned about Hela cells, her attempts to locate the family, and her efforts to gain their trust.The book raises questions of bioethics, of science's treatment of the poor, and of race. It considers questions like, Who owns our body parts? However, this is not strictly a science or philosophical book. Rather, it is more of a human interest story about Henrietta and her family. I did sometimes feel uncomfortable as the author pushed to become close to the family when they initially indicated that did not want to meet with her.3 stars
    • 5/5
      Kudos to the author who spent years tracking down the virtually anonymous woman whose cancer tissues have been the source of so many of medicine's most beneficial discoveries. I also appreciated her objective sensitivity to the forgotten family of Henrietta Lacks. I slowed down during the reading of this so as not to miss the details of the hunt or the results. Well worth the time to read.
    • 4/5
      Skloot has a good sense for detail and tells the story well. Good explanations without getting lost in the science. Ultimately, even our bodies are not our own.
    • 4/5
      Really readable, incredibly captivating narrative not only about Henrietta's life, but also about the history of women's medicine, black history, genetics, and the incredible personality of Henrietta's daughter Deborah.
    • 4/5
      Interesting look at history behind the HeLa cells that have been at the heart of much of the medical research since the 50s.
    • 4/5
      This is book that is almost perfect. We have a very interesting subject, a nice mix of human interest story to Science, plus an incredible ethical problem that has no good answers.First, this is an amazing story. Its not just a story about Henrietta Lacks, but the story of her family and her station in life. The story of the poor black American recently off the tobacco farms in early 1950's is one that isn't often told. How that situation affected generations of her family is also not told. In ways it was eye opening. Its so easy to judge a group of people on what they don't know, between the scientists that came and took samples without an explanation - to how society failed to help them out of poverty. Its a sad story - that a family has no idea how important their mother's cells were to science, how many people were saved - but also how much money was made - and them not seeing a dime of it. Which leaves the question - was what was done immoral? The author makes no case for or against- she discusses both sides, the ethics of the day (and even the ethics of this era). Henrietta was given the best possible care based on her station in life. The treatment she was given was standard for the day (for both black and white people), even taking a sample cells for culture was within the norm, regardless of race. However, how scientists would keep coming back for more samples from the family, without explaining why (Henrietta's daughter thought they were testing for cancer). Is this ethical? I don't know. But it is heartbreaking. The author tells the story with compassion, and is very upfront about her biases. Including herself in the story allowed a reader to view this family as something other than poor, impoverished ignorant people - but as a family utterly confused about the use of their mother's cells. If Rebecca hadn't written about it - I'm not sure if this family would ever find closure. This was a book selected for my workplace Book Club. It garnered a lot discussion, and I believe it was the highest rated book so far.
    • 5/5
      A must read for *everyone* if you want to understand how the medical and scientific community can and probably do harvest the cells of any patients, then commodify and monetise those cell lines and gene sequences they breed out of the harvested cells, without patient consent and without including those unknowing and uninformed patients in the profit streams. This happened to Henrietta Lacks because she was poor and black, who is to say it has not and could not happen to you too?