Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

41 reviews

marioncromb's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

Easy to read, very informative. Empathetic and meticulously researched. Tells the story of Lacks' family alternating with the story of her cells. Maybe a little long with unneccessary detail. Quite US centric - would have been nice to know about laws surrounding tissues etc worldwide for comparison.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Racism, Grief, Medical trauma, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

aubreystrawberry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

emilymhb's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

Wow, wow, wow. I am not normally a nonfiction gal but this book blew me away. I am so thankful that I get to live in a world where HeLa cells were discovered, despite the personal cost her family incurred. This book was beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

eegrasse's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Classism

isabeldotml's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

moniipeters's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

1_and_owenly's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

maybephasing's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Medical content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Racism

franmoldaschl's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma

graceburke's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

5.0

One of, if not the most impactful book I've ever read. Rebecca Skloot is a thoughtful and thorough writer as she tells the story of Henrietta, her family, and her cells. I knew very little of Henrietta and her story when I started. I'm not very knowledgable about science in general, let alone cell culture , but this book was extremely accessible. Moving between telling the past life of Henrietta, the present life of her children, specifically her daughter Deborah, and the immortal life of her cells, Skloot shares the horrors and racism of the world through medical practices and the treatment of the Lacks family. She forces you to think about the morality of different medical practices through an in depth exploration of the advancements of medicine on the backs of Black and Brown people. Where does the line between public responsibility and personal rights stand? Do the ends justify the means? Is fiscal compensation enough of a form of reparations? 
The story of Henrietta and her family is complex, Deborah would be one of the first people to admit such. It's hard and harrowing. The duality of distrust for the abuse their family endured and the recognition that it was Lacks' cells that allowed for the saving of millions of lives and counting globally is not lost on them. 
I gasped, cried, and laughed. Deborah and Skloot's relationship is something I will be thinking about for a long time. I'm so grateful the Lacks' story has finally been shared. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Abandonment