Jason Furman's Reviews > The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

I read a bit more than half of this book several years ago but set it aside. I originally read the parts about Henrietta Lacks, her disease, death, and the immortality of her cells. But I got a bit bogged down in the period after and her family's growing understanding of what had happened and participation in the story. I restarted it (on Audible) and ended up loving the second half, which could have been termed "The Mortal Life of Deborah Lacks" since it is about the author's teaming up with Henrietta's daughter Deborah to learn Henrietta's story and ultimately, through the author, tell it to the world. The portrayal of Deborah and other families members at times seems to have genuine depth and sympathy but at other times seems a little cartoonish and exploitative. Rebecca Skloot never engages with that tension, but she does engage very subtly with other tensions: research done without consent, whether tissues count as a person and should be subject to consent, the ways that Henrietta Lacks was abused by the system but also the tremendous gains in lives saved as a result of the research. At the end of the day, Skloot is also very sympathetic towards the scientists and does not minimize the scientific accomplishments.

An important book to have been written, a nice combination of science (although less than I personally would have wanted), family chronicle, discussion of medical ethics, and more. With some amazing characters and dramas--even more so for being real--to drive it all along.