Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

54 reviews

julia_ham23's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, and Terminal illness

becca_w_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, and Stalking

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Self harm, and Vomit

Minor: Car accident, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

caidyn's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

3.25

I have mixed feelings on this book. On one side, I really enjoyed the story of how this happened and the fallout of it, good and bad. Yet, on another side, it felt very exploitive of the family's pain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Racism, and Sexual assault

mandi4886's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

booksjessreads's review against another edition

5.0

What. A. Book. This is genuinely one of my favourite books ever.  This book tells the life story of Henrietta Lacks (aka HeLa) who's 'Immortal cancer cells' were used to test treatments for polio, helped discover HIV, and helped us find out that transplanted organs are rejected in a new body by the immune system and not because of different DNA. Her cells still live today.

Henrietta Lacks was a 31-year-old black woman with 5 children when she died from cervical cancer. Howard Jones, her doctor, took a sample of her cancer without her knowledge or consent and shipped it off to a lab where it kept growing and growing. Researchers took advantage of this, but kept Henrietta's family in the dark about medical research taking place because of her.

Rebecca Skloot tells this story so amazingly. Half of the book is Skloot telling us how she acquired the information about Henrietta, and the other half is telling us about Henrietta's life, all combined to make the book. Skloot does the story justice, showing the hardship the family faced in light of all the secrets kept from them. She talks about the ethics of taking cells without consent, the crippling racism the family faced in 1950s America, and centre's the voices of the family and Henrietta, rather than imposing her own narrative throughout the story.

A side note that half of the proceeds of the book go to Henrietta's family. The family didn't receive a single penny of the medical research or sales of Henrietta's cells, so if you ever get a chance to read the book, I encourage you to buy it (if you didn't need encouraging enough!)

Honestly such an incredible read and certainly one of my absolute favourites this year! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Cancer, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Incest, and Panic attacks/disorders

foreverinastory's review against another edition

emotional informative sad

5.0

Everyone should read this book, but especially the scientific field.

CWs: Abandonment, ableism, addiction, blood, cancer, child abuse, chronic illness, death, death of parent, drug abuse/use, emotional abuse, fatphobia, forced institutionalization, grief, incest, infidelity, medical content, medical trauma, mental illness (PTSD), physical abuse, pedophilia, pregnancy, racial slurs, racism, rape, sexual assault, sexual content, sexual harassment, terminal illness, vomit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Vomit, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

klfgasaway's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders

vampiretree's review

challenging emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Incest, Pedophilia, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

peachani's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Incest, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, and Stalking

competencefantasy's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

 

So I have a science degree

And would have had a chemistry PHD from a big deal institute if my health had held (and advisor was less abusive)

I teach science. 

I knew none of this

None of this at all. 

And I am just shocked and appalled by that. 

Sure I can claim that biology is not my area. 

But come on I took a senior undergraduate drug discovery course. 

I should know this 

Frustrated arm wave. 

I mean not just *relevant* it’s fascinating. 

The concept of consent for studies

Medical ethics

That we argue necessity for public good but then have inaccessible care 

I probably would have talked more about the sister thing

Really easy to read writing style, not sure about some of the framing

Other Things I’ve looked at/read for this

Review by Colorful Book Reviews (This makes some points about the white reporter writing about a black family thing that I’m not qualified to comment on but did notice)

Book & Movie Review - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks  Rachel Rae Youtube (makes some interesting points about Deborah as a source)

Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot  by Starzbooks Youtube

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - A USF Faculty Discussion  USF Libraries Youtube

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Cancer

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse