:: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks ::

Assalamualaikum to all my readers.

I like reading novels. It’s more fun when you have sisters and cousin who share the same hobby of yours. We always trade books with each other and most of the time, my cousin is someone I’d normally find to look for something to read since she has a shelve full with different kind of novels. A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Popular Bookstore and the intention was to find a newly published novel. I came across this novel, looking at the title, I didn’t have any clue of who Henrietta Lacks was. After reading the synopsis, I was sure that this is gonna something interesting to read. So, I bought it, happily.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. This is the title of the book that I’m about to share with you guys. I don’t usually read medical-related books but this book is different. It has medical story as well as conflict drama about a person who has done a lot for human being, even after her death. Since it’s impossible for you to read the synopsis, I’m gonna copy it down so that you guys can read it.

“Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. Born a poor, black tobacco farmer, her cancer cells – taken without her knowledge – became a multimillion-dollar industry and one of the most important tools in medicine. Yet Henrietta’s family did not learn of her ‘immortality’ until more than twenty years after her death, with devastating consequences... Balancing the beauty and drama of scientific discovery with dark questions about who owns the stuff our bodies are made of, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is an extraordinary detective story in search of the soul and story of a real woman, whose cells live on today in all four corners of the world.”

 ~ The book ~

 ~ Henrietta's family photo ~

One of the comment about the book said, "Rebecca Skloot (the author) explores the idealism and faith in science that helped to save thousands of lives but nearly destroyed a family. This is an extraordinary book, haunting and beautifully told." The reasons why I bought this book in the first place are because it has something to do with my studying and it is a true story. The story is set in from 1920s to 2000s and it gives you the picture of how bad the situation during the racism era in United States where black people were seen as the most dangerous, the poorest and notorious people.

I am already halfway through and I enjoy reading it. I'm a slow reader so, it took me 10 days to read half of the book. Will need another 10 or 15 days to finish it up. For those interested of purchasing this book, it doesn't cost much. RM39.90, that's the price you have to pay.