The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

This is a great book. It's nonfiction about a woman's cancerous cells that were taken from her during treatment in the 1950s. These cells were cultured and grew so rapidly without dieing like most other cells, they became famous. They were used in research to discover all sorts of things and cure all sorts of things. The only problem is that the family had no idea she was being used for research without their permission.

This book is an interesting mix of medical education, family studies, African American studies, history, and biography. It can get very medical at times, but Skloot does a great job of giving medical detail breaks to engage the reader again in the story.

Topics of race, medical ethics, and poverty are brought up. Would recommend for those interested in medical ethics or for book clubs. I wouldn't really say the book on a whole is compelling, but the relationships and family are compelling.