It was chosen as a best book of 2010 by more than sixty media outlets, including entertainment weekly, people, and the new york times. Rebecca skloot and the immortal life of henrietta lacks the author of the new york times bestseller discusses her landmark book. Free download or read online the immortal life of henrietta lacks pdf epub book. Science writer rebecca skloot has always been obsessed with henrietta lacks, the africanamerican woman whose cancer cells were harvested and used to create an immortal cell line for scientific experimentation. In rebecca skloots novel the immortal life of henrietta lacks many ethical questions are raised regarding the practices used to collect and distribute henrietta s cells. The immortal life of henrietta lacks, by rebecca skloot, 4 stars. Discuss the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cellstaken without her knowledge in 1951became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Skloots debut book, the immortal life of henrietta lacks, took more than a decade to research and write, and instantly became a new york times bestseller. Huge medical advances at the cost of everyday people. Conclusion the significance of henrietta lacks and hela.
The first edition of the novel was published in february 2nd 2010, and was written by rebecca skloot. I found this book a little dry and slow at the start but completely fascinating. Rebecca skloot and the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Look in any biomedical laboratory, and you will find hela cells. This 32page guide for the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 38 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. These ethical issues combined with the struggles faced such as poverty, trust and the lack of education by the lacks family contribute to the overall theme of the novel. The immortal life of henrietta lacks chapter 24 summary. Discussion questions for the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Extended discussion with author rebecca skloot, author of the bestselling book, the immortal life of henrietta. In 1951, a young mother of five named henrietta lacks visited the johns hopkins hospital complaining of vaginal bleeding.
The immortal life of henrietta lacks discussion questions. The passage in which the initial fated cells were removed from henrietta lacks s body reads as follows see page 33. You might also be interested in reading about how social issues and politics held back the push for hiv awareness and treatment. It is available to watch on hbo or via online streaming on hbo now, where anyone can watch it for free by signing up for a free 30 day trial. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot. Immortal life of henrietta lacks skloot also consider these litlovers talking points to help get a discussion started for the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Cancer took henrietta lacks, her cells brought forth new science, her family brought her story home.
How would the story have been different if it were told chronologically. For one, the topic hela cells and the woman they came from was entirely unfamiliar to me. She was a poor southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells taken without her knowledge became one of the most important tools in medicine. The immortal life of henrietta lacks has brains and pacing and nerve and heart, and it is uncommonly endearing. Thoughts on the immortal life of henrietta lacks by. Hbos film adaptation of rebecca skloots book, the immortal life of henrietta lacks, starring oprah winfrey as deborah lacks, renee elise goldsberry as henrietta lacks, and rose byrne as rebecca skloot premiered on hbo in 2017. The legacy of henrietta lacks johns hopkins hospital. Yet henrietta lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Loved the immortal life of henrietta lacks, any books in. How to discuss a book helpful discussion tips generic discussion questionsfiction and nonfiction readthinktalk a guided reading chart also consider these litlovers talking points to help get a discussion started for the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Howard jones discovered a large, malignant tumor on her cervix. If you like our questions please feel free to use them. Discussion questions the immortal life of henrietta lacks.
Discussion questions the immortal life of henrietta lacks 1. However, as much as i searched, i was unable to find a published discussion guide for the book to facilitate a discussion. The event in which discovering hela cells is one of the most monumental discoveries that has impacted not only people in the medicinal field, but most likely every person who has ever been to the doctor or has taken prescription drugs. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cellstaken without her knowledge in 1951became one of the most important tools in. Rebecca skloot untangles the ethical issues in the case of a woman whose cancer cells have been the basis for a vast amount of research. The immortal life of henrietta lacks tv movie 2017 imdb. In january 1951 she went to johns hopkins hospital the only hospital in the area that treated black patients at the time. But when i got to the lot where the grocery store was supposed to be, i found a gray, ruststained mobile home, its broken windows covered with wire. The immortal life of henrietta lacks skloot, rebecca. Start studying the immortal life of henrietta lacks chapter 18 study guide.
Pdf the immortal life of henrietta lacks book by rebecca. The immortal life of henrietta lacks chapter 18 study. The immortal life of henrietta lacks, by rebecca skloot. Reading group discussion questionsthe immortal life of.
But the immortal life of henrietta lacks is much more than a portrait of the lacks family. Start by unraveling the complicated history of henrietta lacks s tissue cells. To listen to the doublex audio book club discussion of rebecca skloots the immortal life of henrietta lacks, click the arrow on the player below. Reader with a cause discussion questions for the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot these discussion questions were prepared by the national network to end domestic violence nnedv for reader with a cause, an online book club group on goodreads.
I was so impacted by the story that i decided to choose it as a reading selection for my book club. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. I recently jumped at the chance to participate in this bookbrowse club discussion since i wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the immortal life of henrietta lacks, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The immortal life of henrietta lacks essay questions. Medical apartheid by harriet washington comes to mind, though even more disturbing than the story of henrietta lacks. From the 2010 virginia festival of the book in charlottesville, virginia, rebecca skloot discussed her book, the immortal life of henrietta lacks. These ethical issues combined with the struggles faced such as poverty, trust and the lack of education by the. The immortal life of henrietta lacks questions and answers. The immortal life of henrietta lacks rebecca skloot. Without her knowledge, doctors treating her at johns hopkins took tissue samples from her cervix for research. Henrietta lacks was born loretta pleasant, on august 1, 1920 in roanoke, virginia. At the time, the johns hopkins hospital was one of only a few hospitals to treat poor africanamericans. Start by unraveling the complicated history of henrietta lackss tissue cells.
The immortal life was selected for the first nonfiction edition of the atlantics 1book140 reading club. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by skloot, rebecca. Back in march, i read the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot. Her name was henrietta lacks, but scientists know her as hela. An uneven tribute to the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Oprah winfrey and rose byrne star in this adaptation of the criticallyacclaimed book. The immortal life of henrietta lacks quotes shmoop. The question and answer section for the immortal life of henrietta lacks is a great resource to ask. As a journalist, skloot is careful to present the encounter between the lacks family and the world of medicine without taking sides. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 370 pages and is available in hardcover format. How to teach the immortal life of henrietta lacks by derek spencer science journalist rebecca skloot spent eleven years researching and writing the immortal life of henrietta lacks the untold story of the woman who unknowingly saved countless lives with cancer cells taken from her body at. The passage in which the initial fated cells were removed from henrietta lackss. As much as this book is about henrietta lacks, it is also about deborah learning of the mother she barely knew, while also finding out the truth. Henrietta lacks was a 31yearold black mother of five in baltimore when she died of cervical cancer in 1951.
From a single, abbreviated life grew a seemingly immortal line of cells that made some of the most crucial innovations in modern science possible. The lacks family suffered from a combination of generational poverty and racial segregation that made henrietta s medical care inaccessible. These practices led to emotional challenges faced by each of henrietta s family members and close friends. The immortal life of henrietta lacks book discussion. Rebecca skloot on the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Extended discussion with author rebecca skloot, author of the bestselling book, the immortal life of henrietta lacks. In addition, skloot includes an extended quotation directly from deborah lacks at the beginning of the book. The immortal life of henrietta lacks summary shmoop. There are moments in scientific discovery that are undeniably important in modern medicine and research. View these guides to find additional discussion questions and topics.
Discuss the significance of the titles given to each part. The immortal life of henrietta lacks summary and study. Im also not likely to pick up nonfiction, unless its a memoir. In the immortal life of henrietta lacks, rebecca skloot introduces us to the real live woman, the children who survived her, and the interplay of race, poverty, science and one of the. An africanamerican woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s. Guide developed by the publisher of the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Her experience and that of her family tell a story about medical ethics, cell biology, race and poverty in the book, the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot is a nonfiction book that describes skloots efforts to find out more about the history behind the hela cell line, and especially the woman. Known to science as hela, the first immortal human cells grown in culture are still alive today, and have been bought and sold by the millions. And from that same life, and those cells, rebecca skloot has fashioned in the immortal life of henrietta lacks a fascinating and moving story of medicine and family, of how life is. All last year, i read rave comments about the immortal life of henrietta lacks, yet it never found its way on my reading list. Rebecca skloot on the immortal life of henrietta lacks youtube. In 1950, henrietta lacks, a young mother of five children, entered the colored ward of the johns hopkins.
Because there isnt much information about henrietta and her family, skloot wants to tell their story. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. In addition, the medical care she had access to came with the risk of being used in research without consent, as was common in public wards. Discussion questions for the immortal life of henrietta. Yet her cells taken without her knowledge became one of the most important tools in medical research. Suggested book and reading club discussion questions for the immortal life of henrietta lacks. The book tells the tale of a woman dying of cervical cancer which is traumatic enough for her family but their grief, frustration and anger is magnified. The hbo film, based on the book by rebecca skloot and starring oprah winfrey, centers on the family of the woman whose cancer cells. Henrietta lacks, a poor southern tobacco farmer, was buried in an unmarked grave 60 years ago. Discussion questions use our litlovers book club resources. Dwight garner new york times rebecca skloot introduces us to the real live woman, the children who survived her, and the interplay of race, poverty, science and one of the most important medical discoveries of the last 100 years. Over 50 million tonnes of these cells have been grown in churning vats of liquid. The immortal life of henrietta lacks quotes and analysis.
Discuss skloots relationship with deborah and the lacks family. Find examples of episodes which indicate that deborah and other family members are beginning to trust skloot. It is also a critique of science that insists on ignoring the messy human provenance of its materials. The main characters of this non fiction, science story are henrietta lacks. Hela cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine. Hundreds of book groups worldwide have read the immortal life with wonderful results below you will find information and resources designed to enhance your groups discussion of the immortal life of henrietta lacks. The newspaper article where id gotten henrietta s address quoted a local woman, courtney speed, who owned a grocery store and created a foundation dedicated to building a henrietta lacks museum. With henrietta unconscious on the operating table in the center of the room, her feet in stirrups, the surgeon on duty, dr. The immortal life of henrietta lacks a usf faculty. The immortal life of henrietta lacks columbia, md a book, an hbo movie oprahs. Reading group discussion questionsthe immortal life of henrietta lacks. They spawned the first viable, indeed miraculously productive, cell lineknown as hela. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot would not even have crossed my radar if it hadnt made a solid appearance on the indiebound best sellers list a while back.
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