Henrietta Lacks the Untold Story - by Ron Lacks (Paperback)

About the Book

New Author Ron Lacks, tells a behind the scenes story of what happened in the past 9 years to his family in his new book "Henrietta Lacks The Untold Story" Ron Lacks is the oldest grandson of Henrietta Lacks. He takes you on the inside of a story that has haunted him for the past 9 years! This book will definitely answer your questions as to how the family is really doing now. From Clover to Baltimore... giving you an inside look at what happen behind closed doors, that ultimately divided a once strong family.

Book Synopsis

Henrietta Lacks The Untold Story
I really need people to understand the reason behind me writing this book about my grandmother "Henrietta Lacks". For those that have never heard of her, she is the first human whose cell line was able to grow in culture, her cells were unlike any other cells, while others cells would die, Henrietta Lacks cells doubled every 20 to 24 hours. She has contributed to the medical field in ways that no other cell line has done. HeLa cells has helped with the polio vaccine, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, sensitivity to tape, dental and even used in the cosmetic field.

To hear and read constantly that Henrietta Lacks was a poor black farmer is hard to accept. Anyone that looks at her picture can tell that Henrietta and her husband David Lacks weren't poor black farmers - they enjoyed the finer things in life. They moved from Clover to Baltimore, not out of poverty but, because they felt their children would get a better education here.

I decided it was time to let people have an inside look from the side of the family that people don't hear about much and that's Lawrence Lacks family - Henrietta Lacks' oldest son. He's the only one who's still alive that knew his mother. My dad was 16 years old when his mom passed away. It still brings tears to his eyes when he thinks about all the pain and suffering that she went through before her passing.

Our family has always wanted people to know about Henrietta Lacks, because we have always been enthused by the millions of lives that "Henrietta Lacks' HeLa cells" have done to help save and cure people all over the world. But what we didn't want is for her history to be told incorrectly. I'm so thankful that I am able to tell her family side of the story from the people who was there while she was still living and things that I personally witnessed for myself as time went on. As I get older I now realize if I didn't tell this story no one else would. This is a story that needs to be shared because there is a huge part of her history that has been left out.

As stated in my book: "It's not often that we as African Americans get to share in the telling of our own stories, most of the time the people are long gone and we can only go by what people decide to say happened and not the actual truth of what happened".

Review Quotes

5.0 out of 5 stars
Could not put the book down!
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2020
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I would like to highly recommend Ron Lacks book about his grandmother Henrietta Lacks and their family! What surprised me the most was his candor and openness in sharing how the first book (Rebecca Skloot) has torn this family apart in many ways. There have been personal mental and physical stressors endured by several family members. Ron Lacks also admits to some family secrets or skeletons not shared before. He was up front in the book that some of the Lacks clan may not like everything he shared, but the story must be told accurately and honestly. One of the things I really liked about Ron's book is seeing another side of the family. Through conversations with his father Lawrence Lacks, we get a picture of what Mrs. Henrietta Lacks was like as a person. Lawrence Lacks is her oldest son and the one who remembers her the most. He was a teenager when she died and he had the responsibility of helping to raise his younger siblings. Ron also does a good job through text and photos of showing that the Lacks family was not just "some poor black family," but one that was close knit, loving and spent quality time together. Just like most middle class american families! I guess what surprised me is knowing the background history of how Skloot came into the picture. This family alone and later through representatives had tried to obtain Henrietta Lacks' medical information from Johns Hopkins with little success. They wanted to tell their mother/grandmother's story. Along comes Skloot and she is basically given the key to the medical files!! Although I admit to having read the first book by Skloot, I always thought it could have been done differently. Maybe co write the book with family and have them share in the profits (50/50, 60/40), in a more equitable manner. If I believe what the internet says, Skloot may be worth 91 million dollars.

About the Author

Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman whose cells were the first human cells to grow in cultures known as HeLa cells. Before the discovery of HeLa, scientists were challenged in their research due to the difficulty of keeping cells alive outside of the human body. HeLa cells forever changed the medical landscape. They were used to test the first polio vaccine, which protected millions of people around the world.
This is a memoir written by Henrietta Lacks' grandson Ron Lacks.

Ron Lacks, tells a behind the scenes story of what happened in the past 9 years to his family in his new book "Henrietta Lacks The Untold Story". Ron Lacks is the oldest grandson of Henrietta Lacks. He takes you on the inside of a story that has haunted him for the past 9 years! This memoir will answer your questions as to how the family is really doing now. From Clover to Baltimore... giving you an inside look at what happened behind closed doors that ultimately divided a once strong family.
"It's not often that African Americans get to share in the telling of our own stories, most of the time the people are long gone and we can only go by what people decide to say happened and not the actual truth of what happened".