I have long heard the story about Henrietta Lacks’ cells and their remarkable contributions to science. I picked up the book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot many times over the years. Each time I got distracted and put the book down.
This summer I picked it up again determined to see it through. I was not prepared for the strength of my dislike for the book and the way the Lacks family was portrayed.
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Book Review
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Meh
I’d probably rate this 2.5 stars.
I know lots of people love this book, but it missed the mark for me. I found it disorganized and unfocused. I enjoyed the parts about medical research and the scientific impact of the HeLa cells. But that was not as large a part of the story as I had expected.
I did not appreciate the way the story of the Lacks family was told. It was not linear and felt like airing their dirty laundry for no discernible reason or benefit to them. I especially felt that Deborah’s story (Henrietta’s daughter) was not handled with care. She died before the book was published so she did not get the opportunity to approve or vet her portrayal in this story.
It felt more like a book about the journalist trying to find out the story than an actual profile of the family. She could have done the research and then written a coherent narrative that did not include her in the middle as the only good person the family encountered around this issue.
The fact that this book made the author millions, but she did not share that with the family infuriated me. Setting up a foundation to benefit them I felt was insulting and condescending.
In general, I found the story scattered and frankly, boring.
I had heard so much about this book and disappointed doesn’t begin to capture how I felt finishing this one.
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After I was finished reading, I was so disturbed. I know that this book is required reading in so many college classrooms and that left me quite angry. It was in a hunt for a different perspective that I found the book written by Henrietta’s grandson.
Henrietta Lacks: The Untold Story – Book Review
Henrietta Lacks The Untold Story by Ron Lacks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 stars
I recently read Skloot’s book about Henrietta Lacks and the way the Lacks family was portrayed enraged me. That’s what made me pick up this book.
Ron Lacks is a very angry man. That anger oozes through this story. However, he highlighted some of the issues I felt reading Skloot’s story. Her portrayal of the family as uneducated and impoverished was unfounded. Though they were not rich, they were also not scraping by and without education.
I also felt strong anger at her setting up a foundation rather than sharing the profits with the family whose story she distorted and used to become rich. The fact that the family members must apply for funds from the foundation and it is Skloot who determines whether the request is granted is horrifying. This creates the idea that they are begging for a share of the profits that she has reaped from their story.
Even the pictures he chose to include vs the ones Skloot included show a very different narrative. Like this author I believe Skloot had an angle and she conveniently chose the information that served that. She also benefited from being White and therefore being granted greater access to the history than the family and other people interested in the story before her.
Do I believe all his version? Not necessarily, but I actually give it more weight than I give her assessments.
I’m glad I read his rebuttal and I hope that the Lacks family is able to have some peace eventually.
Also, Oprah should be ashamed of the role she played in the movie and what the family was offered to sell their rights to have an opinion about their portrayal.
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Overall, after having read both books I am sure the entire truth exists somewhere between these perspectives. I don’t know if Skloot’s motives initially were sinister, but I do think she absolutely took advantage of this family for what has turned out to be significant financial benefit. I think the fact that the windfall was not shared with the family whose story she told is despicable. That fact alone makes me less likely to believe her account.
The science of what occurred was very important and I am glad the story was told. I do wish the story was told in a way that honored the family and not one where their intimate details were used to sensationalize the story.
After reading both of these books I would never include Rebecca Skloot’s book as reading in any of my courses and for those who still choose to use it, I hope they also consider including Ron Lacks’ rebuttal.
