Medical writer rebecca skloot examines the legacy of lacks contribution to science and effect that has had on her family in her new book, the immortal life of henrietta lacks. The immortal life of henrietta lacks multiple choice test. The immortal life of henrietta lacks johns hopkins hospital. Race and racism are woven throughout the book, both in the story presented and in the process of the research for the book. A set of 50 flashcards about the book henrietta lacks terms in this set 50 what sicknesses did hela help create medications for. The immortal life of henrietta lacks study guide in 1951 a poor young black woman, henrietta lacks, was diagnosed with cervical cancer at john hopkins hospital. Skloot was yet another white person asking the lacks family about henrietta. Henrietta lackss story was resurrected in magnificent detail in the immortal life of henrietta lacks, the 2010 best seller by freelance science author rebecca skloot. A rhetorical analysis of the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Is the immortal life of henrietta lacks being made into a movie. In january 1951 she went to johns hopkins hospital the only hospital in the area that treated black patients at the time. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot is a nonfiction book published in new york by crown publishers on feb, 2, 2010. As much as this book is about henrietta lacks, it is also about deborah.
This paper will examine the many ways in which henrietta lacks, a relatively poor african woman whose cells were extracted from her without any consent, was viewed primarily as an abstraction rather than a person by the scientific community and the media. The immortal life of henrietta lacks was published by crown in hardcover in february 2010 and has sold more than 1. Welcome to the comments and discussion of the young adult cancer book club we are reading the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot. Henrietta lacks as human beings, each person is born with certain inalienable rights. The immortal life of henrietta lacks study guide contains a biography of rebecca skloot, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. The cells, called hela, became one of the most important. The immortal life of henrietta lacks 2010 is a nonfiction book by american author rebecca skloot. Yet her cells taken without her knowledge became one of the most important tools in medical research. To use these databases offcampus, you will need to enter your multipass username and password when you click on the link. Start by unraveling the complicated history of henrietta lackss tissue cells. The immortal life of henrietta lacks essay questions. Her name was henrietta lacks, but scientists know her as hela.
The immortal life of henrietta lacks book quiz bookroo. Herpes, leukemia, influenza, hemophilia, parkinsons disease. The immortal life of henrietta lacks is an ideal book for classroom. Questions have been gathered into categories to make it easy for you to find. Discussion questions the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Five starsit was hard to put down this compelling, admirable and eminently readable book. Is there any update to the story of hela and the lacks family since the book was published. Lacks and her family were lied to, misled, ill informed, taken advantage of and used by the medical community after her cancerous cells were found. A biography unlike any other, the immortal life of henrietta lacks tells the story of a woman who made a contribution to science that still reverberates to this day in laboratories around the world. Henrietta lacks, a poor southern tobacco farmer, was buried in an unmarked grave 60 years ago.
Skloots debut book, the immortal life of henrietta lacks, took more than a decade toresearch and write, and instantly became anew york timesbestseller. According to, the immortal life is consistently in the top 10 book club picks of 2011. This is the basis for the american constitution and should include rights to the body as well as the spirit. How do you feel about a white woman creating the narrative of this story. The immortal life of henrietta lacks wins best book award from national academies. The immortal life of henrietta lacks summary shmoop. Henrietta lacks, an african american woman whose cancerous cervical cells gave birth to the immortal line of hela cells. Born loretta pleasant it is not clear how henrietta became her first name, henriettas mother, eliza, born in 1886, died in childbirth in 1924. Henrietta lacks, born loretta pleasant in roanoke, virginia, on august 1, 1920, is the ninth of 10 children. Rebecca has found a collection of papers from the hela cancer control symposium at morehouse college, a distinguished and historically black college. Henrietta lacks, a 30yearold african american woman with five children, was diagnosed with an unusually aggressive form of cervical cancer at johns hopkins hospital in 1951.
Henrietta lacks, american woman whose cervical cancer cells were the source of the hela cell line, research on which contributed to numerous important scientific advances, such as drugs used to treat polio, parkinson disease, and leukemia. The immortal life of henrietta lacks is a heroic work of cultural and medical journalism. It was the 2011 winner of the national academies communication award for best creative work that helps the public understanding of topics in science, engineering or medicine. Skloot had to work with the lacks family members in order to write the book. Bookpage named the immortal life a top pick for book clubs, calling it a deeply intimate look at one familys efforts to claim its legacy. Henrietta lacks was born loretta pleasant, on august 1, 1920 in roanoke, virginia. What vaccine was made using research from hela cells.
We move to 1999, eleven years after rebecca learned about henrietta s existence. The immortal life of henrietta lacks, rebecca skloot the immortal life of henrietta lacks 2010 is a nonfiction book by american author rebecca skloot. The immortal life of henrietta lacks chapter summaries. The immortal life of henrietta lacks quizzes gradesaver. Darren brownlee was one of over 2,000 johns hopkins faculty, staff and students who attended one of the prescreenings of the highly anticipated hbo film, the immortal life of henrietta lacks, in turner auditorium and on the homewood campus. There are numerous formats that can be used to cite sources. The immortal life of henrietta lacks study guide contains a. Discuss the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot. Tissue samples were taken during her diagnosis and treatment, and portions were passed along. It has been on the new york times hardcover and trade paperback bestseller lists for a combined 74 weeks, and counting. Apa created by the american psychological association, it is mainly used in psychology and some of the.
The immortal life of henrietta lacks has 23 trivia questions about it. A similar wave of awareness happened in 2010 when rebecca skloots book was published, telling. The immortal life of henrietta lacks book by rebecca skloot. Discuss the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca.
The immortal life of henrietta lacks trivia goodreads. The immortal life of henrietta lacks chapter 8 summary. In the the immortal life of henrietta lacks which describes in detail the history. Lacks again, so i will just say that this nonfiction work details how mrs. One of the most graceful and moving nonfiction books ive read in a very long time. The immortal life of henrietta lacks quiz 1 gradesaver. 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. The immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot. Henrietta lacks and the debate over the ethics of bio. Without her knowledge or consent, doctors at johns hopkins take samples of read full character analysis rebecca skloot the author a young white woman, rebecca becomes obsessed with henrietta. The movie is a mustsee story, leaving me with a core of emotion and appreciation of her life, says brownlee, assistant administrator for. A professor at morehouse named roland pattillo created the symposiumhe is one of the few african americans who studied with george gey.
This is hands down one of the best books ive read in years and i wish i could give it more stars. The immortal life of henrietta lacks multiple choice test questions rebecca skloot this set of lesson plans consists of approximately 140 pages of tests, essay. Free kindle the immortal life of henrietta lacks ebooks. As the book mentioned in chapter 7, by 1951, when henrietta lackss cells began growing in the gey lab the public image of immortal cells was tarnished. The story of henrietta lacks and hela addresses not only the issue of racial exploitation and demonization, but also that of a patients humanity and his or her right to compassionate care and privacy. 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.
Henrietta lacks name became public knowledge after her family sued johns hopkins for taking her cells without them knowing false it was first and incorrectly reported that the hela cell line came from helen lane and the cells were cultured after she had died. Because there isnt much information about henrietta and her family, skloot wants to tell their story. The immortal life of henrietta lacks, skloot, rebecca. Grippingby turns heartbreaking, funny and unsettlingraises troubling questions about the way mrs. The immortal life was selected for the first nonfiction edition of the atlantics 1book140 reading club. The immortal life of henrietta lacks does more than one book ought to be able to do.
While deborah lacks and rebecca skloot were empowered to ask questions. Henrietta was diagnosed with edpidermoid carcinoma of the. The case of henrietta lacks was a milestone for medical research and. I have continually been amazed at how many important discoveries and procedures this book details that happened around the same time. The immortal life of henrietta lacks winner of bookbrowse s 2010 best book. 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.
It was chosen as a best book of 2010 by more than sixty media outlets, includingentertainment weekly,people and the new york times. 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. With the debut of the immortal life of henrietta lacks on hbo in april 2017, this remarkable american storya story involving tragedy, duplicity, racism, and cuttingedge science that has undoubtedly saved many liveshad once again been brought back to the forefront of our shared consciousness. Lacks early life, how her cells came to be harvested, and what happened to both the cells and her family afterward. It was chosen as a best book of 2010 by more than sixty media outlets, including entertainment weekly, people, and the new york times. Where was henrietta lacks living when she was diagnosed with cancer. Articles immortal life of henrietta lacks research. Laura miller, no dead woman has done more for the living. As she lay on the operating table, a sample of her cancerous cervical tissue was taken. The immortal life of henrietta lacks quotes shmoop.
Discussion questions for the immortal life of henrietta lacks 1. The immortal life of henrietta lacks author rebecca skloot. Pretty clever how she links the contamination of the cells to. The original hbo movie the immortal life of henrietta lacks, based on the nonfiction book by journalist rebecca skloot and starring oprah winfrey as. She was a poor southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cellstaken without her knowledgebecame one of the most important tools in medicine. A vocabulary list featuring the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot, forewordprologue. Perfect prep for the immortal life of henrietta lacks quizzes and tests you. Guided reading and discussion questions are provided for each chapter. The story behind the hela cell line is now widely known. The first immortal human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has. The immortal life of henrietta lacks is skloots journey to uncover the story of henrietta lacks. In 1951 henrietta lacks, a poor woman with a sixthgrade education, decides to go to the gynecology department at johns.
The immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot it seems silly to go over the plot of this biography of mrs. Discussion questions for the immortal life of henrietta lacks. Three of the most commonly used formats at duquesne are. Lacks children think doctors at hopkins needed to take a blood sample from them. Cells taken from her during that exam were used without her knowledge to develop the first immortal cell line.