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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
DNF at ~33%
I honestly think I just missed the bus on this book. There's a lot to admire here--Skloot does a good job of explaining scientific concepts in a way that's easy for a layperson like me to understand, she takes what could have been a very dry nonfiction book and made it into a narrative, and the story that this book tells is tragic and tragically unfair.
But.
The story of Henrietta Lacks is, because of this book and the accompanying Oprah-led movie, reasonably well known. It could certainly be better known, but I knew nearly all the events of this book before I ever picked it up--from friends and family breathlessly telling me about it (and hyping it up in the extreme, I'll admit that's a factor), to watching the HBO movie, to other books I've read about black history that touch on the story. So, basically, when I finally got around to actually reading this book, almost exactly ten years after its publication...it couldn't hold my interest. Very little information was new to me and, while I can tell that Skloot is an engaging writer, I was disengaged because I wasn't learning much. The only things I DID learn were the ways in which cancer was treated in that age, and what a "Mississippi appendectomy" is (honestly had to put the book down after that). But, frankly, as I get older...I can't do medical stuff. I'm too squeamish. I'm interested in the systemic failures and injustices, not in gross, gory descriptions.
I understand why this book is popular. It clearly tells a very important story that, for a long, long time, went tragically untold. But I think that I joined the game too late on a book that wasn't really for me in the first place.
I honestly think I just missed the bus on this book. There's a lot to admire here--Skloot does a good job of explaining scientific concepts in a way that's easy for a layperson like me to understand, she takes what could have been a very dry nonfiction book and made it into a narrative, and the story that this book tells is tragic and tragically unfair.
But.
The story of Henrietta Lacks is, because of this book and the accompanying Oprah-led movie, reasonably well known. It could certainly be better known, but I knew nearly all the events of this book before I ever picked it up--from friends and family breathlessly telling me about it (and hyping it up in the extreme, I'll admit that's a factor), to watching the HBO movie, to other books I've read about black history that touch on the story. So, basically, when I finally got around to actually reading this book, almost exactly ten years after its publication...it couldn't hold my interest. Very little information was new to me and, while I can tell that Skloot is an engaging writer, I was disengaged because I wasn't learning much. The only things I DID learn were the ways in which cancer was treated in that age, and what a "Mississippi appendectomy" is (honestly had to put the book down after that). But, frankly, as I get older...I can't do medical stuff. I'm too squeamish. I'm interested in the systemic failures and injustices, not in gross, gory descriptions.
I understand why this book is popular. It clearly tells a very important story that, for a long, long time, went tragically untold. But I think that I joined the game too late on a book that wasn't really for me in the first place.
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
This was a fascinating read. There is just so much good content in this book, in various different topics and themes.
SPOILERS BELOW
1. The science of Hela cells and what they enabled for medical science is absolutely the biggest reason to read this book. Totally incredible.
2. The life and death of Henrietta. It’s a sub-story of Henrietta, from her birth to moving to Maryland, to falling sick and fighting a losing battle against Cancer. That chapter of her death really stuck with me. It was brutal to say the least.
3. The topic of medical consent, and how it evolved over the years. One which was lacking even 20 years after Hela, when the doctors wanted to get the blood of Hela’s kins to solve the problem of contamination.
4. The backdrop of Segregation is something not to be ignored. That one hits really hard in the chapter about Henrietta’s daughter and the institution where she was admitted to. Good on Rebecca for covering that.
5. The story of Rebecca herself. Although it may have been more about Barbara (Henrietta's daughter). I wasn't as invested in this part of the book, and hence the lower overall rating.
Overall, this is a classic. Highly recommend if you like the synopsis.
SPOILERS BELOW
1. The science of Hela cells and what they enabled for medical science is absolutely the biggest reason to read this book. Totally incredible.
2. The life and death of Henrietta. It’s a sub-story of Henrietta, from her birth to moving to Maryland, to falling sick and fighting a losing battle against Cancer. That chapter of her death really stuck with me. It was brutal to say the least.
3. The topic of medical consent, and how it evolved over the years. One which was lacking even 20 years after Hela, when the doctors wanted to get the blood of Hela’s kins to solve the problem of contamination.
4. The backdrop of Segregation is something not to be ignored. That one hits really hard in the chapter about Henrietta’s daughter and the institution where she was admitted to. Good on Rebecca for covering that.
5. The story of Rebecca herself. Although it may have been more about Barbara (Henrietta's daughter). I wasn't as invested in this part of the book, and hence the lower overall rating.
Overall, this is a classic. Highly recommend if you like the synopsis.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
If you are even slightly interested, I highly suggest reading this book. Interesting and informative, Skloot covers decades of science to understand who Henrietta Lacks was and how she, and now her descendants, were let down by medical science. 4.75/5
This was more depressing then I thought it was going to be. Good though.
Distressing subject matter handled with grace and aplomb.
After giving up on several other non-fiction books recently, I was pleased to find this one so easy to read.
The use of a timeline strip at the top of the page to let you know when in time the story is happening is one of the most useful inventions I have seen in a long time for a book like this.
This book covers a host of complex subjects in an informative and non-judgemental manner. Following the history of one family from the end of slavery through into the modern day, with the way society slighted them at every step, leaving them massively impoverished and unable to afford healthcare from a system that has not just benefited from the cells taken unknowingly from their relative, but a system that has significantly enriched dozens of people and created companies from those cells.
Seeing the same arguments repeated over again about why people shouldn't be given more rights...
A really hard book to review.
It's just good.
Read it - but make sure you know what the Tuskegee Syphillis Trial was before you do. It's relevant to the fears of the family.
After giving up on several other non-fiction books recently, I was pleased to find this one so easy to read.
The use of a timeline strip at the top of the page to let you know when in time the story is happening is one of the most useful inventions I have seen in a long time for a book like this.
This book covers a host of complex subjects in an informative and non-judgemental manner. Following the history of one family from the end of slavery through into the modern day, with the way society slighted them at every step, leaving them massively impoverished and unable to afford healthcare from a system that has not just benefited from the cells taken unknowingly from their relative, but a system that has significantly enriched dozens of people and created companies from those cells.
Seeing the same arguments repeated over again about why people shouldn't be given more rights...
A really hard book to review.
It's just good.
Read it - but make sure you know what the Tuskegee Syphillis Trial was before you do. It's relevant to the fears of the family.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This could be a great book for older students who are studying in a science class that focuses on the human body.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced