Sometimes scientific advancement comes at a cost. Henrietta Lacks has been paying the price for almost a century.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
tells the story of the woman known to scientists as HeLa, whose cancerous cells were taken and cultured without her knowledge, and continue to be used in research to this day. Exploring issues of bio-ethics and basic human rights, author Rebecca Skloot presents an engaging and respectful exploration of the legacy of the Southern tobacco farmer who unknowingly changed the face of medicine, and her descendants who cannot afford health care.
There’s still a couple of months before we all want beach reads, so get this one in before the sun and sangria hits. —JN
$20.06 in hardcover; paperback in stores March 8 and available for pre-order ($13) at Amazon.ca and Chapters.ca
