The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

     I had been hearing about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for at least two years.  It seemed to be on every "must read" list and was reviewed everywhere I turned.  When I read the synopsis, it sounded good enough, but it never got to the top of the list of books I wanted to read.  When I was perusing the public library a few weeks ago, I saw it on display shelf of "recommended books", so I decided it was time to check it out.  I am so happy finally took the time to read this book!  The previous reviews, though glowing, never conveyed (at least to me) just how good this book would be.  Although completely non-fiction, Skloot writes in a way that had me hooked from the beginning, and captivated me until the end.  When I read the last chapter, I said "What?  It's done? But I want to keep reading....."  This true account wove science, family, poverty, race, and history into one book that left me not only better educated, but full of new perspective on many different issues.  I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that the subject of the book, Henrietta Lacks herself, was from Clover, a small community in Halifax County, Virginia, where I was born and still have a lot of family.  I had heard about her before, but because she lived in Maryland at the time of her death, it wasn't widely known about her Virginia connection!

     This masterpiece tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a young woman whole died of cervical cancer in 1951, leaving behind cells that were taken from her body at Johns Hopkins Hospital.  Her cells, which came to be known as "HeLa" cells, were the first of its kind, and instantly started multiplying in a laboratory.  Such cell growth was unprecedented and had been attempted for many years; however, HeLa cells surpassed all expectations and continued to multliply to the present day.  They have been sold to hospitals and laboratories all over the world, and have been used for thousands of research projects, including finding the cure for polio and isolating the case of the HPV virus and its link to cervical cancer.  At the same time she presents the story of the cells and their greatness, Skloot also intersperses the story of who Henrietta Lacks was, where she came from, and what came of her family.  In doing so, she provides primary accounts of medical, social, and legislative history in the United States.

Bottom Line:  And extremely well-written treasure of science, history, and humanity.

Overall Rating:  95