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A review by anjalisudarsan
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
5.0
I never thought I'd binge-read a non-fiction book, but here we are! I picked this book up out of curiosity about Henrietta Lacks, the woman whose cells are behind many of today's (effective) medication but was unknown for a long time.
This book not only traced Henrietta's life, like a biography, but also talks in depth about the cells and the laws behind consent that changed from the 60s to today. Back then, the concept of consent and bioethics was basically non-existent, which is still unfair to the Lacks family. They deserved to know.
The author also does a lot more than talk about the science bit, she follows Deborah, Henrietta's daughter and really shares a real picture of their lives - it's almost like we were reading her diary. Throughout the book, I also got to learn about the various challenges black people had to face with the medical industry (it is definitely an industry, there is clearly no non-selfish motive behind doctors and hospitals) - from tests that risked their lives, out-right not receiving healthcare and just a lot of biases. It was a bit sad to hear that the family ironically couldn't receive healthcare because of the high costs - again, the selfishness of the medical industry makes one question a lot of things, whether only the privileged can access good healthcare.
At the end, I just question the ethics of the medical industry, and the sheer selfishness and greed involved. Are these people really looking for the betterment of mankind, or are they just looking to grow their wallets? Real questions.
This book not only traced Henrietta's life, like a biography, but also talks in depth about the cells and the laws behind consent that changed from the 60s to today. Back then, the concept of consent and bioethics was basically non-existent, which is still unfair to the Lacks family. They deserved to know.
The author also does a lot more than talk about the science bit, she follows Deborah, Henrietta's daughter and really shares a real picture of their lives - it's almost like we were reading her diary. Throughout the book, I also got to learn about the various challenges black people had to face with the medical industry (it is definitely an industry, there is clearly no non-selfish motive behind doctors and hospitals) - from tests that risked their lives, out-right not receiving healthcare and just a lot of biases. It was a bit sad to hear that the family ironically couldn't receive healthcare because of the high costs - again, the selfishness of the medical industry makes one question a lot of things, whether only the privileged can access good healthcare.
At the end, I just question the ethics of the medical industry, and the sheer selfishness and greed involved. Are these people really looking for the betterment of mankind, or are they just looking to grow their wallets? Real questions.