Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Den odödliga Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

28 reviews

libragazette's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Terminal illness, Cancer, Child abuse, Death of parent, Medical content, Pedophilia, Chronic illness, Grief, Incest, Racism, and Medical trauma

rhiwind93's review against another edition

emotional informative slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Incest, Medical content, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Racism, and Terminal illness

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

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

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

jenmcvay's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism and Racism

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Medical trauma

franklola's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, and Racism

Moderate: Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Death, Chronic illness, Grief, Incest, Physical abuse, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

amcghig's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Grief, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Medical content, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Chronic illness

anushar's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

I read this book because I bought it to make myself smarter and ended up reading it for a school project. I usually avoid nonfiction books like the plague, but this one was pretty good. You don’t need to know a lot about science to read it, and it tells an important story, so I would recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Incest, Medical content, Pedophilia, Chronic illness, Death, Child abuse, and Child death

udari's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Sexual assault, Racism, Rape, and Cancer

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Addiction, Cursing, Infidelity, Alcohol, Child death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Suicide and Bullying