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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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Publisher's Summary
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NOW ADAPTED INTO A HBO FILM STARRING OPRAH WINFREY & ROSE BYRNE
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. Born a poor black tobacco farmer, her cancer cells - taken without her knowledge - 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 fascinating 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.
Critic Reviews
"No dead woman has done more for the living...A fascinating, harrowing, necessary book." (Hilary Mantel, The Guardian)
"One of the most graceful and moving non-fiction books I've read in a very long time." (Dwight Garner, New York Times)
"An extraordinary mix of memoir and science reveals the story of how one woman's cells have saved countless lives." (Daily Telegraph)
What listeners say about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 28-05-2020
what an amazing story.
it was a fun book to read and now have listened to it also. was rivited by it both times. a well written sequel to events and insight into research.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Philip
- 29-04-2021
A remarkable story of many issues and an unknown heroine
The authors dedication to this family and the unknown heroine comes through. This Is a remarkable true story of a family that suffered loss many times over and had little real understanding about what their relative had unwittingly achieved. I sat on the fence about if commercialisation should go to the family but they certainly needed it. It is perhaps easy to see value in retrospect but so many tissue samples yield little beneficial. Giving a small amount to cancer research (in general) would be a noble gesture and might help families like the Lax’s. Sadly the US economy provides very little assistance to these families right now. Hopefully this will change post-pandemic.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 07-05-2021
An important story beautifully told
A spectacular book. It ballances the story of a scientific break through with a very human exploration of who Henrietta was and how deeply her family were effected.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hannah
- 08-01-2023
An exceptional story, beautifully told
A fascinating story in of science, history and human behaviour, told in a way that is easy, engaging and with the deepest respect. Loved the narration too!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Leanne McCartney
- 31-12-2023
True story
Amazing true story that is an easy listen. Even though it’s non fiction the narrative was excellent.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eva Hansord
- 16-10-2020
Amazing story
I love the way this story weaves the scientific knowledge of cells and tissue research through the incredibly interesting story of the Lacks’ lives. Well worth a listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 27-10-2022
A story worth knowing.
I had several attempts at reading the book so finally decided to give that up and audible it. Glad I did. The story is such an important ongoing moment in history and most people don't have any knowledge of it, and its effects on health systems. The narrator is easy to listen to and I felt I was lierally going along on the ride.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Worth the investment, will buy more!
- 15-02-2024
I wish everyone would read this
A beautiful mix of science and story. Heartbreaking and fascinating. Well narrated and something that should be essential learning for medical students and professionals. Have already tried to share far and wide so that folks know who Henrietta Lacks is and how she changed our world!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rani
- 09-01-2023
Enlightening
I really enjoyed this book, it was well thought out and whilst obviously science based you didn’t get bogged down in detail.
Definitely a story that had to be told and I’m so grateful for the health care system in Australia (whilst not perfect, leaps and bounds ahead of the US).
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Erin
- 07-08-2020
WOW
Amazing story loved it. So glad her story has been told and can get the recognition she deserves
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