N. Rue and Co.

In January, I wrote about an interesting story I’d read in O Magazine – an excerpt of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. It is the story of a poor African-American woman who unknowingly had cells taken from her body, which turned out to be very important tools in medicine. The story itself is fascinating and for the most part, an interesting read.
 
In 1951, at the age of 30, Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with and died of cervical cancer. Before she died, a surgeon took samples (without her knowledge and/or consent) from her tumor and saved them in a Petri dish. According to Skloot, “Scientists had been trying to keep human cells alive in culture for decades, but they all eventually died. Henrietta’s were different: they reproduced an entire generation every twenty-four hours, and they never stopped. They became the first immortal cells ever grown in a laboratory.” (p.4)
 
Not one person from Henrietta’s family knew about Henrietta’s cells being taken from her until about 20 years after her death, when scientists began investigating the HeLa cells (for HEnrietta LAcks). The family had no idea her cells were instrumental in developing the Polio vaccine, cures for certain types of cancer, viruses; they helped to advance important medical discoveries like cloning, gene mapping, and in vitro fertilization.
 
Rebecca Skloot first heard of HeLa in a biology class while she was in college. Intrigued, she set out to find out who Henrietta Lacks actually was. Not much was known about Henrietta except that she was a poor, Southern, African-American woman with a number of children who lived with her husband, a farmer. Skloot’s journey takes 10 years and she chronicles all of it in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
 
The best parts of this book are learning about Henrietta’s short life, her children and her extended family members. There is a lot of scientific  “talk” that I found boring, although it was probably necessary for the book. Skloot becomes close to Henrietta’s children, especially to Deborah, who was a baby when her mother died. Because she never knew her mother, she wanted to find out as much about her as she could. 
 
This book not only tells the story of an incredible woman, Henrietta Lacks, but it is a piece of history, as well. Back in 1951, there were segregated hospitals, and Henrietta was treated in the “colored” part of John’s Hopkins hospital. It is easy to surmise that the doctors who took her cells from her (without her consent) did not think twice about it because she was a poor, black female living in the South.
 
The book touches on all sorts of things that really make you ponder about life almost 60 years ago, compared to our lives today. There was no HIPPA law back then. Her family was and remains today poor, even though her cells have made millions for the companies that sell human biological materials. Is this “fair”? Who “owns” the parts of our bodies after we are gone? The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a book you will not soon forget. I recommend.

Yes, I have been in NYC for the past week and no I do not have anything written for Rue’s Reads. I have a stack of books that I have read and would like to tell you about but right now I can not even remember them all. I feel as if I have been gone for a year instead of a week. I will get my act together and have something I hope you think worth reading for next week. Until then…enjoy your reading! Thanks for your patience.

Lately, I have been spending every spare second reading. I am an avid reader anyway, but in the last few weeks I have been on a bender! It is (becoming) an escape for me – a stress-reliever and break from the never-ending to-do list we all have. I’ve read 4 books in the last 2 or 3 weeks and am in the middle of one now – The Thorn Birds (finally!) Below, a quick review of two that I have read (while I am supposed to be doing other things).

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Picked this one up at the airport…looked like a good one and I was right! Reminds me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn…it has that feel. Brooklyn is a story of a young Irish girl, Eilis Lacey, who moves to Brooklyn, NY from Ireland in the years following World War II. She leaves her family and friends behind in search of a better life. She gets a job at a department store, lives in a boarding house and finds love when she least expects it. This is an incredibly easy, delightful read – it’s only 262 pages but I wished it were longer! I am hoping for a sequel.

The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers by Thomas Fleming

I never tire of reading about US Presidents and those that formed our nation. Obviously, if you don’t give a hoot about them, you won’t like this book one bit. As the title suggests, you learn about the intimate i.e. love, home, personal lives of Washington, Franklin, Adams, Hamilton, Jefferson and Madison. I don’t want to give too much away…maybe you’ll read this one?! However, I will say that these men were doing a lot of what our modern politicians are: cheating on wives, fathering children with women they are not married to (hello, John Edwards!), lying, scheming…not much has changed in 200 years, I tell ya.

The wives (and mistresses) in these mens’ lives were extraordinary and strong…I learned much about the women behind the men. This is not necessarily an easy read but one that is worthwhile in its historic and entertainment value. I recommend!

Next week: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.

Rue has been reading a number of books but has not had any time to write about them. She will be back next week with a list of books and hopefully a mini-review about all of them. All of us at N. Rue hope to see you on Saturday, April 24 for our grand opening! Thanks for reading! (and shopping)