Book in the Spotlight: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

By Rebecca Skloot

A book that touches the heart and leaves its reader questioning their very existence, is indeed an excellent book. And this is that book.

There is a lot of scientific and political jargon that the reader needs to get through, but with patience, because you have to read that too in order to get the full scope of the book and the person you are reading about, it is mind and soul gripping.

It is the book of a strong, courageous woman that undergoes the tortuous struggle of cervical cancer and loses the battle with grace and dignity. But in the end, because she was a poor black woman and her family was never taken into consideration, she was stripped of her cancer cells by doctors to use for the study into cell regeneration--known as HeLa--the first immortalized cell line.

The cells were taken from a tumor biopsied during the treatment for her cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland in 1951 and cultured by George Otto Gey who created the cell line. These cells, known as HeLa are still being used today for medical research.

No one from Henrietta’s family ever knew the cells were being harvested, tested, and sold for research and use. There was much money made from the selling of these cells, but yet the family received none and they were so poor they could not even afford medical insurance.

This is a heartbreaking story of a woman dying and never knowing the great importance of her contribution to so many. And a family that nearly never knew the contribution her mother made to the world for so many people. This book will touch you so deeply that you will feel the need, in your heart, to thank this woman whom you will never know, but will no doubt play some role in your life.

Book in the Spotlight: The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale

By Margaret Atwood

This blog post was written by a guest writer. Enjoy their take on The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood:

I am not a reader of Margaret Atwood novels, but when I saw the television advertisements depicting this novel, I was quite intrigued.

The novel was written in 1985 and tells of how people’s lives were changed from a life of freedom, into a totalitarian life style.

As I was reading this novel, I became enthralled by it and could hardly put it down.  It makes one think what life could be like if this actually happened now in this day and age.  Women were being treated as baby mills to the state and life for these handmaidens was nothing but the realization that they were the vessels of the future generations.

It also brought to reality that this could easily happen.  Where life itself held no love between husband and wife, friendships nonexistent, women’s rights were no more...and women meant nothing.

We all want a book to grip us, but this book makes us look at our reality and question our own existence.  Margaret Atwood did an excellent job in making the reader think about how we would feel if our own world were to change...and not change for the better. 

This book brought a fear to myself and made me question my importance in this world.  Women have a hard battle being heard and made equal in society.  This book strips all equality from a woman and belittles her importance.  It demoralizes our very existence and freedoms we have long ago fought for.

My rating for this book out of 5....would be 4.5.  It is well written and thought provoking.  Pick it up when you get a chance. You will not be disappointed.