When The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was first being talked about and reviewed I was mightily intrigued. The story of a woman whose cells are taken without her knowledge who then goes on to die (horribly) from cancer while those cells replicate like crazy and pretty much take over the scientific world - well, it's got a lot that I find appealing, not the least of which is some fascinating social history. Then I began reading about author Rebecca Skloot and how she put together a book tour on a wing and a prayer that has succeeded like gangbusters and I was doubly intrigued. Once I started reading the book though (for a planned review in June or July) I was completely blown away.

This is some kind of writing folks, something new and deep and incredibly compelling. Skloot has broken new ground in a lot of ways by giving us a memoir of illness that is deeply personal while also not being written by the sick person. Generally, a book like this would either be very academic and written solely for a heavily science literate audience or it would be extremely personal, from the perspective of the patient or family. Skloot surfs through both these worlds and also rises above them, seeing the family with a more nuanced eye, delving into the science with exactness and precision while also allowing some personal shock and awe over just what the researchers did and on top of all that, covering her own story as a writer who could not let a story go, no matter how hard it got.

And make no bones about it - writing this book could not have been easy.

I loved that she included so much history about Henrietta, both the facts of her life and the stories from her family members. She does not allow you to see her as anything less than a person: a young girl, a wife, a mother, someone who was dearly dearly loved by many people. After decades of being just the abbreviation on a vial of cells, here she is alive in every sense of the word. If that was all that Skloot accomplished I would be impressed but it's only part of what the book is about and the rest is equally relevant.

You can't read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks without being deeply disturbed by the cavalier attitude doctors have exhibited with their patients in the name of science. And lest you think that was all in the distant past, Skloot has some fairly recent examples that will make your hair curl. She also breaks your heart with her journeys on the trail into Henrietta's pastl where she meets and spends time with people who have been left behind by progress and largely overlooked by the world until she comes knocking on their doors. She makes clear how remarkable it is that a woman who came from poverty and whose entire family still struggles with it, could be the literal source of millions for so many research companies. Was it legal? Yes. But was it right?

Well, we're all going to have some ideas about that after reading.

As much as I was interested in the science and history however, it is as a writer that this book had its greatest impact. This is how research is done, this is the work that must go into following a story, this is what a serious writer does. Skloot is fantastic and the book she writes is a stunner. I look forward to writing my formal review and thinking more about the life of Henrietta Lacks and the twist of fate that brought her into Skloot's world. And also, for sure, this is a book I will be purchasing for a lot of people this year and spreading the word of just what Henrietta Lacks gave to us all.

[Post pic of Rebecca Skloot via Townsend photographers - for the PW cover piece. The book was sent to me by the publisher for review at Bookslut.]