Publisher's Synopsis
She never signed a form. She never gave permission. Yet her cells became immortal-changing the world while her name was nearly forgotten.
In this powerful and poignant account, The HeLa Legacy uncovers the life of Henrietta Lacks-a young Black woman whose death in 1951 marked the beginning of a scientific revolution. Without her knowledge, doctors at Johns Hopkins took a sample of her cells-cells that would become the first to live and replicate endlessly outside the human body. They would become known as HeLa. These cells would launch the age of modern medicine, leading to historic breakthroughs in vaccines, cancer treatments, fertility, genetics, and more. But while laboratories flourished, Henrietta's family lived in poverty, unaware for decades of the monumental role their mother, sister, and grandmother had played in reshaping science.This is not just a story of medical progress-it is a story of erasure, exploitation, and the long struggle for recognition and justice.
Through tender narrative and unflinching truth, The HeLa Legacy restores Henrietta's voice, placing her humanity at the center of a conversation too long dominated by silence. Her cells were taken. Her legacy will not be.
