Rebecca Skloot Summary

Henriettas husband, Day, signed the paperwork and didn’t even know what he was signing. He was simply told that they could learn from doing an autopsy which could help protect his family if someone else got cancer. Following Henrietta Lacks’ death, her family continued to live a hard life without ever knowing about Henriettas cells. Henriettas children dropped out of school, joined the army, and one was sent to an assisted living facility. To make matter worse, Henriettas cousin and her husband moved into the Lacks’ home in order for them to watch over the kids while Day was working two jobs; however, this new arrangement ended with the children being beaten and abused for years including sexual abusing

Throughout her book, Rebecca Skloot shared the story of Henrietta Lacks and how her cells became so important to science. This narrative involves racism, injustice, and ambition. Henrietta, for instance, alike the majority of African-Americans, was a poor tobacco worker, who lived in a small town called Clover. Blacks did not have the same benefits as white people. One significant difference was medical care: hospitals separated colored and white people using different floors one for whites and one for blacks. Evidently, the white section had more advantages; instead, some blacks could not even afford seeing a doctor and when they did, “it was understood that black people did not question white people’s

She repeatedly states that her intentions of writing a book “about [Deborah’s] mother” are because she “was surprised no one seemed to know anything about her” (52). Skloot further proves her point of respecting the personalities of the Lacks family through her interviews for family history and her travels to Clover for relatives, as well as her information on the scientists and their feelings of using the HeLa cells through talks. However, Skloot’s research ultimately leads to her discovery that “‘science is not the highest value in society’” (321). This point is further emphasized with references to Christoph Lengauer, a “young Hopkins cancer researcher” who makes a FISH painting of Henrietta’s cells to show “‘how grateful [he is] for their donation” (234). Additional references are made to Roland Pattillo’s conferences and their mentioning of respect amidst all the negativity directed towards the Lacks family. Through Skloot’s research, Deborah and the rest of the Lacks family have been able to get answers to their complicated questions and Skloot is able to display her perspective

“Henrietta just nodded and said, ‘Lord, it just feels like that blackness be spreadin all inside of me,’” remarked Rebecca Skloot, author of the nonfiction novel The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. This quote not only personifies the pain of cancer patient Henrietta Lacks, but it stands as a metaphor for the African-American race during the mid-twentieth century. Through the story of the Lacks family, readers are able to thoroughly understand the culture, medicinal practices, and attitudes of the African Americans and scientists of the time.

The resulting book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, combines the story of the HeLa cells with that of Henrietta and her family. Skloot works hard to gain the trust of the Lacks family, who were angry and distressed about HeLa and the way in which they had been treated. No one had ever explained to them what HeLa was and what it was used for; they struggled to reconcile the immortal existence of their mother’s cells with their own religious beliefs; they have had experiences of being misled and patronized by scientists and other people trying to exploit them; and some members of the family, who live in poverty and cannot afford health insurance, feel that they are entitled to a share of the vast profits that HeLa has made. Over several years, Skloot forms a relationship with the Lacks family, who begin to realize that she is not trying to exploit them. She becomes particularly close to Henrietta’s daughter, Deborah, who desperately wants to learn everything she can about the mother who died when she was just a toddler. Deborah also wants her mother’s story to be

Ultimately, Skloot reveals more and more about the character of Lacks, her family, and the scientist involved in the situation through careful investigations and research. After her death, Henrietta’s children would go on to live with their aunt who was cruel and left them on bad paths in their lives. Never really recovering from the experience, they each went separate ways and dealt with emotional issues on their own, growing thicker skin and learning to fight for themselves. They would grow up to be bitter towards much of the white world and did not fully understand

Skloot elicits pathos throughout the book by telling the emotional story of Henrietta Lacks’ cervical cancer, and how it affected her family. Henrietta

The lack of knowledge was the root of the problem faced by the Lacks family and this shortcoming was used, perhaps unwittingly by some, to manipulate the family into situations that did not house their best interests. Throughout The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks familial propagated ignorance caused serious detriment to the Lacks family. This detrimental patronage ranged from incestuous relationships, prevention of schooling youths, and severe child abuse. These obstacles placed before the Lacks may have been buffered, entirely prevented, or only perverted by the wealth derived from Henrietta’s

In the first part of the book, Skloot tells us almost the whole life of Henrietta, her early years, her life with Day and the kids, and the whole process when she was diagnosed with cancer. However, if we think more deeply, throughout the whole story she is trying to show us how unethical doctors were back in those days, and the social and health issues that black people used to have. But more than that, what Rebecca really wants throughout the whole section is that we know how important were the HeLa cells to the medical word, that without Henrietta immortal cells health science would not be as advanced as it is today. Therefore, she wants us to be thankful to live in a time with so many opportunities, and to be thankful with Henrietta for

Henrietta’s cousin Cliff tells Skloot that the black family lacks are buried on top of their white lacks relatives (Skloot 13). The white lacks owned them as slaves hence the relation between the two races. A few secrets are revealed in the book about the family like Henrietta getting married to her cousin after she fell pregnant with him. The lacks remember their times around the “home house” as religious and a happy life despite the imminent poverty surrounding them. It is evident that Henrietta loves staying in Clove, it is clear in the story that her husband was unfaithful (Henrietta had syphilis) which later led to her premature death (Skloot 5). The strong family’s ties make the children work hard to get out of the pauperism and the anxiety to learn about their mother’s story. Her story is an inspiration and a legacy to the children. The kids appreciated that their mother would leave on up to the next generation through the cells. The theme of family is clearly portrayed in the instances

Rebecca Skloot has always had an interest in Henrietta Lacks, the African-American woman whose cancer cells were cultivated and recognized as the first imortal cell strain and used for scientific research and discovery. There isn't much information about Henrietta and her family so, Skloot wanted to tell the world about the host of the famous HeLa cells and her family. Before realizing how much backstory, emotion, and controversy exists until she starts connecting with the family and people involved with them.

The Story of Henrietta Lacks is one of racism, poverty, science, faith, family, and bioethics. The story follows Rebecca Skloot’s journey as she learns about Henrietta’s story. Eventually, when she comes into contact with Henrietta’s family, Rebecca seems to know more about Henrietta’s cells contribution to science than the Lacks family does. Henrietta’s family, mainly her daughter Deborah, tells Rebecca about how the entire family is traumatized by reporters and how they learned horrifying things about their mother that the science community never cared to tell them. To me, this is the issue that stands out the most in the entire story: bioethics. While reading, there seems to be a moment, or even several, in each chapter that make you pause and think: how could anyone think that is okay?

Laws that now prevent things such as invasions of privacy and define requirements of informed consent. If these laws had been in place during Henrietta's life, the story of the Lacks family may have been very different. In the last couple of chapters, we learn how Rebecca works with Deborah to piece together her mother’s story. Deborah, who suffers from crippling anxiety, comes to befriend Rebecca and is comforted in the idea that her mother’s story is finally being

Rebecca Skloot in her book uses scientific facts as well as dialogue of the family and others Skloot meets on her journey and with her family comes their views of how Henrietta was treated by the doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital. When Henrietta was diagnosed it was the era of the Jim Crow South. In a time that was predominantly racist, African Americans weren’t treated with the most consideration. No researcher found it necessary to compensate the Lackses for using their mother's cells. The Lackses still show their frustration about how they have yet to be compensated for researchers using their mother's cells. Reverend Pullum, Deborah’s second ex-husband, answered her phone saying if Skloot wishes to speak with Deborah “‘they want to be assured

In the photo of Henrietta and David Lacks, the photo is expressing a fake front to the audience that Day and Henrietta are ‘happy’ despite their personal struggles with Henrietta’s health and Day’s unfaithfulness. Henrietta’s facial expression is showing a deep sadness as she attempts to smile knowing her medical condition is getting worse, while Day’s facile expression is showing guilt and uncertainty. The facial expressions of both Henrietta and Day are clearly showing on the inside they are fight personal demons and are truly not happy with themselves and each other. The absence of wedding rings are a crucial part in this photo. Showing that Day and Henrietta throughout their relationship have not committed themselves to getting married