Reviews tagging 'Incest'

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

71 reviews

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

hhwanghyunjin's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

I recently finished "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" and I have to say, it is one of the most fascinating and thought-provoking books I have read in a long time. The book tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a woman whose cells were taken without her knowledge or consent in 1951 and used in scientific research that led to many groundbreaking discoveries, including the polio vaccine.

The author, Rebecca Skloot, does an excellent job of weaving together the story of Henrietta and her family with the larger scientific and ethical issues surrounding the use of human tissues in research. Skloot's writing is clear and engaging, and she manages to make complex scientific concepts accessible to the layperson.

What really sets this book apart, however, is its deeply human element. Skloot's relationship with Henrietta's daughter, Deborah, and the Lacks family is a major part of the book, and it is clear that Skloot cares deeply about telling their story with sensitivity and respect. As a history teacher, I appreciate how Skloot situates Henrietta's story within the broader context of medical experimentation on African Americans throughout history.

Overall, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of medicine, ethics, or social justice. I cannot recommend it highly enough. 5/5 stars.


"If you want to see your grandmother alive, you need to come home right now." - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, p. 74.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Cancer

Moderate: Sexual assault, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Incest and Cursing

saskiahill's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Fascinating and moving

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Cancer

Moderate: Addiction, Slavery, Racism, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Gaslighting

Minor: Suicide and Incest

zams's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

English: Definitly the best book I've read so far.
The telling of the stories as well as  the presentation of the researched data was incredible. As somebody who only learned English as a 2nd language I was a little nervous about the presence of authentic language, but it made the whole bok just a lot more real and therefor enjoyable.
An absolutely outstanding work by everybody that contributed. This is not just a book about science but also one that transfers heavy emotins right through the pages.

Deutsch:  Definitiv eines der besten Bücher die ich bisher gelesen habe.
Das Erzähle der Geschichten genauso wie die Präsentation der gesammelten Daten sind unvergleichlich.
Ich hatte zuerst etwas Respekt vor der Tatsache dass authentische Sprache in dem Buch verwendet wird, allerdings war das Verständnis absolut kein Problem, und gab der Geschichte das gewisse etwas, dass sie so persönlich macht. Ich weiß nicht wie diese Parts in der deutschen Übersetzung wirken.
Definitv eine herausragende Arbeit von allen, die daran mitgewirkt haben. 
Nicht nur ein Buch über Wissenschaft, sondern auch eines dass es schafft, heftige Emotionen durch die Seiten zum Leser zu transportieren.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Blood, Body horror, Death, Cancer, Grief, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Ableism, and Chronic illness

Minor: Addiction

spicewitch's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Incest, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Racism, Death, Cancer, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Child abuse

Minor: Incest, Physical abuse, Slavery, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Murder

thebrainglitter's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Terminal illness, Cancer, Child abuse, Death of parent, Medical content, Pedophilia, Chronic illness, Grief, Incest, Racism, and Medical trauma

rhiwind93's review against another edition

emotional informative slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Incest, Medical content, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Racism, and Terminal illness

grboph's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

I had to read part of this book as part of a project on bioethics for an anatomy and physiology class, but it was so interesting and well-written that I decided to read the entire thing. I'm very glad I did!! The story of Henrietta Lacks, her cells, and her family is a very fascinating one, and Skloot tells it very well. I really liked that she included herself as a secondary "character" in the book - this served to make the rest of the events of the story and the people she met seem more real because her interactions with them were documented. I learned so much from reading this book about cell biology, genetics, bioethics and its history, medical racism, and so many other things. It's very important this book exists, as it tells the story of a woman whose life affects everybody (due to how ubiquitous HeLa cells are) and how the way she was treated by Johns Hopkins doctors affected her and her family. It also raises a lot of very important points about informed consent and financial compensation, and how attitudes about these things have shifted over time. This was a very informative and well-crafted book, and I would recommend it to just about anyone, but especially anybody who is interested in medicine, biology, and bioethics.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Slavery, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Antisemitism, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs

rumay's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Incest, Infertility, and Infidelity