Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

127 reviews

katieribbon's review against another edition

emotional informative sad slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

meant2breading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Never has a non-fiction held my attention in the way that the story of Henrietta Lacks has. Normally, I read nonfiction slowly and a few chapters at a time to make sure I absorb, helps me remember important information! However, though story of Henrietta and her family was so heartbreaking, I could NOT put this book down. Incredibly astonishing. I work in Medical Affairs and thought Skloot’s work felt very well researched, including the history of cell development. Given the remarkable yet terrifying aspects of this story involving health care disparities, systemic racism within our society including in medicine, and the ethical considerations surrounding autonomy and consent, this should be a required read for anyone pursuing research or medical fields. This is one of the best books I’ve read this year and a new favorite non-fiction book of all time. Please check TWs 💕.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Incest and Suicidal thoughts

vanesst's review

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Ableism and Infidelity

hanbu's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation

shellroch285's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

I had heard about Henrietta Lacks for one brief moment in a bio class in high school. I'm very glad I got to read this to learn her story. Her family was very right not to trust the author for a while because of how other (white) people have capitalized off of Lacks, and I'm glad they received the respect and kindness they deserved.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Medical content, and Medical trauma

katiemccreary's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

emory's review against another edition

slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent

likeagilmoregirl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Incest and Rape

mels_reading_log's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

This book tells the true story of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman who had her cells taken when she went into Johns Hopkins Hospital for cancer treatment. The cells which were taken without her consent were then sold and distributed around the world for medical research and are still used today. The fact that this story is real is so troubling. The way the medical community has taken advantage of poor, black and handicapped people in the name of medical advancement is atrocious and it makes perfect sense that many do not trust doctors because of this. 

I did like the way the book was written like a podcast, where we went along with the author to do research and meet with the family members. This keeps the information accessible and easier to understand than dense science talk. I believe this information should be required knowledge in this country, so people, especially the non black can know the depths of racism that exist and understand that this was less than 100 years ago.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Suicide

geekmom's review against another edition

4.5

This is a compulsively readable nonfiction book - it reads like a novel, or a thriller. It is deeply disquieting and uncovers some stark and unpleasant realities about American society. The author's respect for the family of Henrietta Lacks and her desire to tell their story in accordance with their wishes is obvious throughout the book and really does her credit - she sets an example that I would love to see more nonfiction writers follow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Racism, Medical content, and Medical trauma