Submerge the Cells, Drain the Body, Protect the Soul: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

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The idea was not hers, neither was the work nor science behind it, but the cells were. That has to count for something. Rebecca Skloot sees that in a glimmer at the age of sixteen, and, in that moment, Rebecca’s life is no longer her own. And because of that the bounds of science and ethics are no longer separate matters.
Rebecca Skloot believes it counts for something. People do bad things that have bad outcomes and get away with it. And people do bad things that have good outcomes and get away with it. Rebecca Skloot’s nonfiction novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, questions the morals behind decisions that can benefit the human population. Does it make it acceptable to steal because stealing this particular thing (Henrietta’s cells) “helped develop drugs for treating herpes, leukemia, influenza, hemophilia, and Parkinson’s disease” (Skloot 10)? Rebecca Skloot hones in on emotional appeals; she not only wants to question the ethics in science but shine a light on what those in higher places are capable of getting away with. Skloot embarks on an passionate journey as she criticizes the ethics of scientists, the injustice thrown upon the Lacks’, and the family ties that run deeper than connective tissues and cancerous cells. Skloot immerses herself in the cells, the dynamics, the family and surfaces with the reader, on the other side, transformed.
Rebecca Skloot defies the ordinary when presenting Henrietta’s story. Chronology plays an important role in the flow of this nonfiction piece. Rebecca takes the reader, first, through Henrietta’s diagnosis before bringing them back to the beginning of Henrietta Lacks’ life. The reality and abruptness of this chapter is what pulls the reader in. The shortness of the chapter and...

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...ok. Skloot is not just educating her readers because if she were all the extra details and description would be unnecessary. Skloot seeks to unite on an emotional level with human connection.
This is not a book that a reader can dip one foot in. The reader has a choice: to fully enjoy the book and submerge oneself in it, or to look at it from a detached and more logical standpoint, focusing solely on the facts. That is not what Skloot wanted. Skloot wrote this book to tell not only the story of Henrietta’s stolen cells but also the story of Henrietta, and her family, and the effect of her death on them. Skloot brings the reader to the forefront of this time period where medical rights were just beginning, and unethical behavior was socially accepted. The reader has a chance to see what a lack of personal morals and code of ethics in the medical field can really be.

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