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The
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by
Rebecca Skloot
REVIEWER
– TIFFANY BRIDGER
In
an epic work of non-fiction, editor of Popular
Science
magazine Rebecca Skloot brings to surface the amazing, and truly
immortal life of the woman who ‘changed the history of medicine’,
Mrs Henrietta Lacks.
Henrietta
Lacks, or ‘HeLa’, as many scientists later referred to her and
her line of cells, was a poor, yet stunning African-American woman born in 1920.
She lived a difficult life in the midst of ‘coloured’ and white
segregation, and was taunted throughout school. She didn’t stay
there long though; like the rest of her family, began to help harvest
the tobacco fields in her hometown of Clover, Virginia.
By
her 20th
birthday she had fallen happily in love, was married, and soon became
the mother of five children. Her eldest daughter, Elsie, was
reportedly deaf and dumb, but Henrietta tried still saw hope. Despite
tutoring, mothering and nurturing her child as best she could, it was
recommended by doctors that Elsie be placed into the care of the
Crownsville State Hospital – known then as the Hospital for the
Negro Insane. Though the family were unaware at the time, they later
discovered that during her stay, Elsie had been exposed to
experimental abuse, most likely the cause of her death just a few
years later in 1955.
Just
prior to her passing, Henrietta’s own health began to deteriorate
with tragic speed. Not one for doctors, given the lesser treatment
that African-Americans received over Anglo-Americans, Henrietta was finally persuaded by
family to visit the doctor about her growing stomach pains. A small
lump was detected inside her cervix. Over a period of time
Henrietta’s tumour was treated with what was thought to be the
known cure for cancer at the time – radium. Glass tubes filled with
radium were inserted inside Henrietta’s cervix regularly with the
hope of pain relief, and of course destruction of the tumour.
Amazingly,
this is only the beginning. The true story takes off here, as
scientists conduct tests with a selection of Henrietta’s cells.
That is, without the knowledge or permission of either Henrietta
herself or her family.
Skloot,
being an award winning creative writer with a passion for science,
tells Henrietta’s story with a visible compassion that becomes
instilled within the reader. The
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
is a surprisingly comfortable read for a weighty work of science
non-fiction. Difficult terminology is either explained simply or
avoided altogether; Skloot makes sure to exclude no one with her
clean, careful language and lively inclusion of particular dialects.
It is difficult
to feel guilty about putting your feet up and reading when you are
learning new things with every chapter. Magical.
The
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by
Rebecca Skloot, Pan Macmillan, RRP $34.99
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