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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
This was honestly such a feat in both reporting and storytelling, I am super impressed and was enthralled by the story of Henrietta Lacks and her family.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Despite the somewhat negative reviews, I really liked this book. I think the personal narrative of Skloot was a great feature and really important to the story, as the dynamic of a young white woman telling this story was a major theme in why/how the Lacks family was taken advantage of. The book brought to the forefront many ethical issues in the medical community that are still continuing. The medical story of the Lacks family is very similar to many poor communities of color, throughout history and today. This book really speaks to the disparities in the healthcare system and tells a need to know story of an important part of medical research history.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
informative
One example of me not DNF-ing a book! I started this a couple of years ago for uni but never finished it until now! In places it can be particularly technical and hard to understand but from a literary and historical perspective it is so interesting! It raises questions about identity, ownership and the morality and ethics of biological research dating back to the 1950s. Race is also a big part of the book and sometimes the narration comes across a little like a white saviour but, ftom the tone of the afterward and acknowledgements, I think this is something the author does on purpose to enhance the discomfort of the story.The book was published in 2009 so I understand that some of the statistics and practises are outdated noe but it still gives an idea on how the pharmaceutical companies in America function and how involved capitalism is in the medical field. Overall, this was a tough read but I highly recommend it!
informative
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
informative
medium-paced
This is a very important story and I am glad this book exists. I just found half of it to be irrelevant information, too deep of a dive into the science without enough explanation, and unneeded descriptions of someone’s mental health issues along with other personal and traumatic experiences. It just made me lose interest and felt a bit invasive reading it. However, the other half was some of the most interesting and captivating bits of story and information I’ve read.