Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

89 reviews

meant2breading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Never has a non-fiction held my attention in the way that the story of Henrietta Lacks has. Normally, I read nonfiction slowly and a few chapters at a time to make sure I absorb, helps me remember important information! However, though story of Henrietta and her family was so heartbreaking, I could NOT put this book down. Incredibly astonishing. I work in Medical Affairs and thought Skloot’s work felt very well researched, including the history of cell development. Given the remarkable yet terrifying aspects of this story involving health care disparities, systemic racism within our society including in medicine, and the ethical considerations surrounding autonomy and consent, this should be a required read for anyone pursuing research or medical fields. This is one of the best books I’ve read this year and a new favorite non-fiction book of all time. Please check TWs 💕.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Incest and Suicidal thoughts

elspethmigliore's review

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.25

this made me extremely sad and uncomfortable (i hate in-depth medical talk) but it was very informative which i enjoyed. 

i probably wouldn’t reread, but it was still very good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, and Vomit

Minor: Murder

akswhy's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

3.0

A disquieting book, but not only for the reasons you may think. I would be interested in an author/researcher of color’s take on this fascinating subject, because though Skloot does her best to address how Henrietta’s story—and how it continues into her descendants’ stories—could only have happened to a black woman, she does so with a reserved sense of injustice. I wanted this to be the entry point for a closer examination of medical racism, but that wasn’t within the scope of this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

This book tells the true story of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman who had her cells taken when she went into Johns Hopkins Hospital for cancer treatment. The cells which were taken without her consent were then sold and distributed around the world for medical research and are still used today. The fact that this story is real is so troubling. The way the medical community has taken advantage of poor, black and handicapped people in the name of medical advancement is atrocious and it makes perfect sense that many do not trust doctors because of this. 

I did like the way the book was written like a podcast, where we went along with the author to do research and meet with the family members. This keeps the information accessible and easier to understand than dense science talk. I believe this information should be required knowledge in this country, so people, especially the non black can know the depths of racism that exist and understand that this was less than 100 years ago.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Suicide

pastelhxrmony's review

emotional informative inspiring reflective

5.0

I could not put this book down, this is definitely one of my favorites. About 50% science and 50% biography and I loved every single bit. Everyone needs to learn about the impact Henrietta’s cells have had on humanity and her family.  This book is so well written and there’s a lot to learn from it. I could not recommend The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks  enough.  This is the book that got me into nonfiction.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Incest

secretbadass's review

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Sexual assault

muppetymelody's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

hayreading's review

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.75

A good and informative book. Not my usual read, but very well written. Points off for slow pacing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

erinreadstoomuch's review

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

Incredibly heartbreaking and eye opening regarding the fact that the key to so much modern medicine is tied to a woman whose name is largely forgotten. Rebecca did an incredible job at portraying the real emotions and bringing true life to Henrietta, while also giving her family the respect and kindness they have been owed for so long. Henrietta’s name should be screamed from the roof tops. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual assault and Medical trauma

bdaigneault's review

informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Sexual harassment