The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks

I prepared the whole extra hand luggage full of books that will travel with me,still could not help checking out local bookshops here in Zagreb and on impulse bought "The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks" that occupied me for nights in a row. It turned out to be a gripping story about young black woman who died in 1951 but hospital team kept her cells and used them for medical experiments (for some reason these cancerous cells showed as strong and lived forever) - as much as this was important and useful in medical research around the world,the bad part of the story is that her impoverished family was not informed about it and if Henrietta helped millions around the world,her own family did not have enough money for medical insurance.

The story basically goes as two parts simultaneously - the author follows and explains the past, situation of the times and how Henrietta lived and than jumps in the present time where she tries (with great difficulties) to contact Henrietta's descendants who are understandably traumatized,angry and suspicious towards white lady journalist,expecting another fraud. I was constantly upset while reading this book - author very casually mentions ugly circumstances in which blacks lived (Henrietta's mother died during 10th childbirth, her own baby falls on it's head during the birth and get epilepsy and so on) on the other hand there is the whole issue of doctors using patient's cells without anybody being asked or knowing about it,so the story goes far beyond Henrietta Lacks. The end of the book is not exactly happy end - Henrietta's descendants at least accept they will live their lives as before,in poverty but maybe their own children will get something out of it.

And finally identity of the woman who inadvertently helped the whole world is now being widely known.