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The cover of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot, 2010

In 1951 doctors took Henrietta Lacks's cells without asking. They became the first immortal human cells, used in labs worldwide, while her family spent decades learning what had happened.

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16 parts, about 31 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • Tells how one woman's cancer cells, taken without her knowledge, built a research industry while her family could not afford doctors
  • Leaves you able to ask sharper questions about consent, privacy and who profits from tissue taken during routine care
  • Braids the science of immortal cells with years of reporting alongside the family, including the strain the search put on them

Who it is for

  • Medical and biology students who have worked with cell lines
  • Patients wondering what happens to tissue they leave behind
  • Readers of race, medicine and research ethics in America

What the summary covers

  1. The Woman in the Photograph2 min
  2. From Clover to Hopkins2 min
  3. Calling the Lackses2 min
  4. Turner Station and Clover2 min
  5. The HeLa Factory2 min
  6. The Children Left Behind2 min
  7. Cancer Cells Without Consent2 min
  8. A Killing and a Contamination1 min
  9. Night Doctors and Blood Draws3 min
  10. Who Owns Cells2 min
  11. Why the Cells Never Died1 min
  12. Recognition and a Con Man2 min
  13. Deborah and Her Reporter2 min
  14. Elsie and the Records2 min
  15. The Burden Passed On2 min
  16. Who Owns Our Tissues2 min

Recommended by

  • Eric SchlosserAuthor of Fast Food Nation
    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks brings to mind the work of Philip K. Dick and Edgar Allan Poe. But this tale is true.

About the author

  • Rebecca Skloot
    • Born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1972, the daughter of the poet and novelist Floyd Skloot and the knitter Betsy McCarthy.
    • Worked as a veterinary technician for more than a decade, in animal shelters, vet clinics, emergency rooms, research labs and an animal morgue, before becoming a science writer.
    • Holds a B.S. in biological sciences from Colorado State University and an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of Pittsburgh.
    • Her magazine work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine and O, The Oprah Magazine, and she has been a correspondent for Radiolab and NOVA scienceNOW.
    • Her first book took more than a decade to research and write and reached the New York Times bestseller list.
    • Coedited The Best American Science Writing 2011 with her father, Floyd Skloot.
    • Founded The Henrietta Lacks Foundation and serves as its president.
    • Has taught creative writing and science journalism at the University of Pittsburgh, New York University and the University of Memphis.

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