Common Read 2012: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

This year’s book for the Common Read project is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.

The book is an emotional read centered around the life of a little known woman whose cells were used    for the advancement of science. Briefly, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the life story of Henrietta, an impoverished black woman who in 1951 entered the “Charity Ward” at Johns Hopkins hospital with a severe case of cervical cancer. The doctors performed common treatments of the time, including the insertion of radioactive materials directly on the cancer site and external radiation therapy that left her skin burnt and blackened. However, many attempts were also being made during the 50s to culture the first “immortal cells”, or cells that would reproduce indefinitely in the lab, and in order to accomplish this the doctors and researchers were taking samples from their patients. Henrietta was one of them. According to the Lacks family little effort was made to acknowledge any consent and at one point it is stated in the book that consent was even denied. All the same, Henrietta’s cancer cells (and healthy cells) were taken from her body and miraculously reproduced at an incredible rate — doubling every 24 hours. 

Through The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot beautifully weaves the life story of the living Henrietta Lacks, the immortal HeLa, and the later generations of the Lacks family. She brings light to the research practices of the 1950s and the ethical concerns that were raised as a result. Skloot does this in such a way though, as to make it feel as a fiction and at times it makes you stop and think “Wow, this really happened. This was a real woman and I’ve benefited from her, because of her there are millions of people who are still alive.”

As with the Common Read project last year, there will be several on-campus workshops and discussions
centered around the book. More exciting though, the author, Rebecca Skloot will be visiting campus on November 8th, so be sure to mark your calendars and be sure to attend!

You can purchase The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in the campus bookstore.

Read more about the Common Read Project and keep up with Events here.