EEP! And a Review.

So, I take the LSAT tomorrow morning. EEP! Please pray for me, as I am unusually nervous. I think I will do alright, but there really isn't a second chance.

Also, I read a book recently that I think more people should read. Here are the details:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Author: Rebecca Skloot

Summary from Amazon.com:

From a single, abbreviated life grew a seemingly immortal line of cells that made some of the most crucial innovations in modern science possible. And from that same life, and those cells, Rebecca Skloot has fashioned in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks a fascinating and moving story of medicine and family, of how life is sustained in laboratories and in memory. Henrietta Lacks was a mother of five in Baltimore, a poor African American migrant from the tobacco farms of Virginia, who died from a cruelly aggressive cancer at the age of 30 in 1951. A sample of her cancerous tissue, taken without her knowledge or consent, as was the custom then, turned out to provide one of the holy grails of mid-century biology: human cells that could survive--even thrive--in the lab. Known as HeLa cells, their stunning potency gave scientists a building block for countless breakthroughs, beginning with the cure for polio. Meanwhile, Henrietta's family continued to live in poverty and frequently poor health, and their discovery decades later of her unknowing contribution--and her cells' strange survival--left them full of pride, anger, and suspicion. For a decade, Skloot doggedly but compassionately gathered the threads of these stories, slowly gaining the trust of the family while helping them learn the truth about Henrietta, and with their aid she tells a rich and haunting story that asks the questions, Who owns our bodies? And who carries our memories?

My Thoughts:

I know that is a long summary, but this book deserves it. It has been on several top book lists, and I found it on the NPR website. This book is INCREDIBLE. I found myself shocked and horrified and laughing all in the span of a few pages. Don't be intimidated by the Science speech- Skloot writes in a clear, descriptive prose that is beautiful and heartbreaking. I even cried towards the end! Skloot touches on issues of poverty, education, and racial justice. More than being about the HeLa cells, this is a book about a family, and ultimately about the very nature of humanity. Relevant Magazine's review sums it up.

In short, you should all read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks! You will not be disappointed! :)