The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Rebecca Skloot
About this book
A heartbreaking account of a medical miracle: how one woman’s cells – taken without her knowledge – have saved countless lives. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a true story of race, class, injustice and exploitation. ‘No dead woman has done more for the living . . . A fascinating, harrowing, necessary book.’ – Hilary Mantel, Guardian With an introduction Sarah Moss, author of by author of Summerwater. Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. Born a poor black tobacco farmer, her cancer cells – taken without asking her – 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 . . . Rebecca Skloot’s moving account is the story of the life, and afterlife, of one woman who changed the medical world forever. 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 journey in search of the soul and story of a real woman, whose cells live on today in all four corners of the world. Now an HBO film starring Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne.
Why it was banned
Identified by PEN America as banned in Elkhorn Area School District, Wisconsin, and Lake County Schools, Florida, during the 2023–2024 school year.
Censorship history
United States school ban context: PEN America's Black history book-ban reporting identifies The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as banned in Elkhorn Area School District, Wisconsin, and Lake County Schools, Florida. The book was also reported on a not-approved list in Marietta City Schools, Georgia, alongside other civil-rights and Black history titles. These cases show how contemporary bans can affect nonfiction about medical ethics and racial injustice, not only fiction or sexually explicit material.
Bans
| Country | Year | Reasons |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2024 | RacialOther |