St. James Book Club: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, 2/8/17

Happy New Year!

We had a nice, post-holiday discussion last meeting, comparing and contrasting the recollections of Dylan Thomas and David Sedaris on Christmas. Quite illuminating!

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, Feb. 8, when we will discuss Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Note that this is the second Wednesday, not the first, which has been our usual meeting time.

From a review:

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she had remained virtually unknown, her family unable to afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.

We thought now would be a good time to read it because an HBO TV-movie adaptation, starring Oprah Winfrey, is slated to be broadcast in 2017.

Hope you will join us!