Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

60 reviews

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

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

Minor: Addiction

kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

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

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

kj_reads's review against another edition

Rebecca Skloot literally is no different from any of those other reporters and journalists that were bothering this family. Some of this book focuses on Skloot's journey to find information about the HeLa cells and the Lacks family. After I realized that, I wanted to push through just to keep getting more info about the Lacks family and their fight for compensation (which was something that was discussed) and ownership over the cells, but then I found out that Skloot barely gave any money to the family from what was generated from the book. Like you've got to be kidding me, you mean to tell me you invaded this family's life and used them just so you could write a book about them and their experiences, and you barely even compensated them. It felt very white savior-y. I found/find that super disgusting and I couldn't bring myself to continue reading after that honestly. Also, I really hated the way that she talked about some of the family members. I can't remember exactly what was said since I'm writing this so much later from when I stopped reading, but I remember negative descriptions being used in times where it was 100% not necessary.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, 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

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

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

Minor: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, and Pregnancy

rumay's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

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

savaha's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Classism

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment

Minor: Rape and Violence

cdoubet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

nicoleslaw's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Murder

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is the type of book that sticks with you and sits in the back of your brain, being relevant in the least expected situations. The writing draws the reader in and tells the story in a way that makes it feel personal to each individual. More than that the lives and struggles of Henrietta and her family being immortalized as they are in this book, shine a light on the parts of history the written record strives to forget.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Classism