Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

120 reviews

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: Death of parent, Racism, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Classism, Death, and Cancer

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Terminal illness, and Miscarriage

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

tomnoor's review against another edition

4.5

Really intriguing and important story. I would have liked further discussion of how stories such as this influence contemporary medical mistrust in black communities. Also feel like the Lacks family should have gotten paid directly for all the info and work they supplied for this book, not just a foundation set up with an undisclosed portion of proceeds benefitting others. Would love to have an update on how things stand now, 10+ years after the book’s publication 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Medical content

hubes's review

informative sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Cancer, and Death of parent

Moderate: Racism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Child death, and Grief

afion's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Cancer, Medical content, and Pedophilia

Minor: Infidelity

myantigone's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Cancer, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, and Mental illness

rakizaka's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Racism

savaha's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Rape and Violence

murryloub's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

Everyone should read this book. This should be mandatory education in schools. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, and Cancer