The book is about Henrietta Lacks and the immortal cell line, known as HeLa, that came from Lacks's cervical cancer cells in 1951. Skloot became interested in Lacks after a biology teacher referenced her, but didn't know much about her. Skloot began conducting extensive research on her and worked with Lacks' family to create the book. The book is notable for its science writing and dealing with ethical issues of race and class in medical research. Skloot said that some of the information was taken from the journal of Deborah Lacks, Henrietta Lacks's daughter, as well as from "archival photos and documents, scientific and historical research." It is Skloot's first book.
Editions
The book was initially released in hardcover, published by Crown, on February 2, 2010. On the same date, an audiobook edition was published by Random House Audio, narrated by Casandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin, as well as electronic editions in mobile and EPUB formats. A paperback edition was published by Broadway Books on March 8, 2011. It has also been translated into more than 25 foreign language editions.
Critical reception was largely favorable. It was named a best book of the year by more than 60 media outlets, including New York Times, Oprah, NPR, and Entertainment Weekly. Lisa Margonelli reviewing in The New York Times Book Review said: Dwight Garner of The New York Times wrote: One reviewer for The New Atlantis, while mostly positive about the book, questioned its ethical arguments about tissue markets and informed consent involving scientists such as Chester M. Southam, and claimed to have found factual errors: one related to the role of HeLa cells in early space missions, and, another related to a statement in the book that says "if all HeLa cells ever grown could have been gathered on a scale, their total weight would have measured more than 50 million metric tons." Skloot addresses this question on her website, where she explains how the 50 million metric tons figure was calculated, saying "That calculation was based on the way HeLa cells are known to divide and the amount of time they’d been alive at the time the calculation was made." She clarifies that "it was a hypothetical calculation because that many cells couldn’t have been saved and put on a scale." She also says that the figures "were verified before the book went to press by the scientists who did the original calculations, and outside experts."
Academic reception
The book was adopted as a common reading text at more than 125 universities and was widely taught in high school, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral classrooms. In September 2015, schools in Knox County, Tennessee were faced with demands from a parent that the book be removed from Knox County classrooms and libraries; the parent in question alleged that the scene in which Lacks discovered her tumor was depicted in a "pornographic" way.
In other media
Film
In 2010, it was announced that a television film project based on the book was in development. Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball were teaming together to bring the biopic to HBO. HBO began production on the film in the summer of 2016. Winfrey executive-produced and starred as Deborah, the daughter of Henrietta Lacks. George C. Wolfe wrote the screenplay and directed the film. Lacks' sons and granddaughter were planned to serve as consultants. The film aired in 2017. In Alex Garland's film Annihilation, Natalie Portman's character is seen reading the book in one scene; her character is a biologist who specializes in cancer and the film explores genetic mutations.
