Our selection for March 30 is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.
“Honestly, I can't imagine a better tale. A detective story that's at once mythically large and painfully intimate. Just the simple facts are hard to believe: in 1951, a poor black woman named Henrietta Lacks dies of cervical cancer, but pieces of the tumor that killed her -- taken without her knowledge or consent -- live on. The cells from this one tumor spawn a multi-billion dollar industry and become a foundation of modern science -- leading to breakthroughs in gene mapping, cloning and fertility and helping to discover how viruses work and how cancer develops (among a million other things). But what's truly remarkable is that we also get the rest of the story: Who was Henrietta Lacks? How did she live? How she did die? Did her family know that she'd become, in some sense, immortal, and how did that affect them? These are crucial questions, because science should never forget the people who gave it life.” Excerpted from an interview with Jad Abumrad, host and creator of Radiolab.
The book group is open to all interested members and their guests. You will find complete directions to the home of this month's hostess at the bottom of your registration confirmation email.
Questions? Contact Laurie Sharp at lsharp1000@msn.com.
