Honors World Literature

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Assignment:

  • Students should have their own copy of the book since it will be used frequently throughout the semester.
  • Students are to complete the reading guide associated with the book.
  • This reading guide will be turned in the 2nd day of class.
  • Further analysis and an analytical writing piece will begin the first week of school.

Overview of and Purpose for Reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance.

Soon to be made into an HBO movie by Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball, this New York Times bestseller takes readers on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers filled with HeLa cells, from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia, to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew. It’s a story inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we’re made of.

Winner of several awards, including the 2010 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Nonfiction, the 2010 Wellcome Trust Book Prize, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Award for Excellence in Science Writing, the 2011 Audie Award for Best Non-Fiction Audiobook, and a Medical Journalists’ Association Open Book Award, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was featured on over 60 critics’ best of the year lists.

In addition to being a riveting reading experience, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks has become an important educational tool. Praised for its research, reportage, the ethical issues it has raised, and its unique relevance to a wide range of disciplines from the arts and sciences to law, medicine, anthropology, African American Studies, and more, the book is being used in hundreds of classrooms and teaching programs around the country. It has been selected for common reading at nearly 150 colleges and universities and is widely used in high schools, medical schools, and professional programs.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: HeLa Reading Guide

Introduction

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is divided into three parts: Life, Death, and Immortality. As you read the book, use the questions below to guide your thoughts and ideas and note any dates or events you feel are important to understanding the information in each section.

Part 1: Life
Chapters 1 through 11

Henrietta and her family had a distrust of medical doctors and hospitals. What led them to feel that way?
The author, Rebecca Skloot, had a hard time getting Henrietta’s family, especially her children, to trust her. Why?
How do you think the Lacks’ lives might have been different had Henrietta’s doctors asked for and gotten informed consent from her family before gathering her cells for research?

Part 2: Death
Chapters 12 through 22

George Gey, the first doctor who grew HeLa cells, wanted to keep Henrietta’s identity private, so he created the pseudonym Helen Lane. Why did he want to protect her identity?
In chapter 17, a virologist, Chester Southam, wondered if scientists working with Henrietta’s cells could get cancer from handling the cells. What did he do to test the theory that cancer was caused by a virus or immune system deficiency?
What is the Nuremberg Code and why was it established?

Part 3: Immortality
Chapters 23 through 38

The Lacks had no idea that their mother’s cells had been harvested and used in research until 25 years or so after her death. The family was devastated to learn this and had no understanding of what happened or why. How do you think this could have been avoided? What responsibilities did the medical researchers, Johns Hopkins, and other institutions have toward the family?
Through research using HeLa cells, scientists discovered what made these cells immortal. What did they discover?
In the Afterword, Skloot discusses the ongoing debates among medical scientists, lawyers, ethicists, and others. Some feel it is the right of every person to have a say-so in how their cells are used or not used for research. Others believe it is everyone’s obligation as members of society to donate (without compensation) their tissues for the good of society because that is how new drugs and treatments are discovered. What do you think?