1. Skloot says that Henrietta Lacks went to Johns Hopkins during “the era of Jim Crow.” Have you ever heard of Jim Crow? What or who is Jim Crow? In what way was her medical treatment different because this was the “era of Jim Crow”? If you can’t answer these questions, please look up the term Jim Crow in a history book or on the internet and then try to answer.

2. How does it make you feel when you read about the differences between the treatment of white and black patients during this era? Why?

Discussion Questions:

1. How difficult do you think life was for Henrietta when she was growing up? What were the hardest parts of that life? Do you think she was ever happy? What things do you think made her happy?

2. In this chapter, we read about cousins Henrietta and David having children and getting married. Most of us would think of these as impossibilities for ourselves because there is now a strong taboo against the coupling of cousins. How does it make you feel to read of these cousins marrying and starting a family? Why?

2. In this chapter, Henrietta’s cells are taken to Dr. Gey, who is ultimately able to preserve and grown them. Now that you have read about Henrietta’s early life, marriage, family, and illness, do you have an opinion about whether it was ethical to take her cells without telling her what might be done with them? How could a reader’s knowledge of the facts of her life affect his or her response to this question? Should it?

1. Dr. Gey was obviously a very talented and intelligent person, but he did not accomplish the HeLa breakthrough alone. He had significant help from his lab assistants and others. Think of a person you know whose accomplishments are impressive. Did this person make these accomplishments alone or with some important help from others? Who helped this person and how? Think of a famous person whose work you admire. What kind of help would you imagine this person had?

2. Henrietta’s treatment with radium may seem unusual, painful, or even cruel by our standards today, but it would probably have been considered excellent medical care at the time of her treatment. Medical treatment often improves over time and becomes less painful or invasive. Can you think of medical treatments that are performed today that might one day be considered too painful or cruel? Do you know of anyone who has benefitted from a medical treatment that was painful or unusual?

1. The Lacks family does not seem eager to speak with Rebecca Skloot about Henrietta or the HeLa cells. Why not? What reasons would they have for not trusting or embracing this researcher who wants to tell the story of the woman and her cells?

2. When scientists make discoveries or developments such as the one made by Dr. George Gey, do you think they are primarily concerned with helping others? Advancing knowledge in their field? Getting personally rewarded? What is their primary motivation for the work that they do?

1. Skloot claims that black patients—especially those in public wards such as the one Henrietta visited—often received sub-standard care that was less effective than white patients received. After reading this chapter, do you believe the doctors at Johns Hopkins were doing everything they could to help Henrietta and give her a chance to beat the cancer that ultimately killed her? Why or why not?

2. Henrietta seems to have fought as strongly as she could for as long as she could against cancer. Would you describe her fight as “brave”? What other words would you use to describe her attempts to deal with her illness? Have you ever known anyone who has battled cancer or another serious illness? How would you describe that person’s response to his or her illness?

2. Very quickly, Skloot and Cootie develop a relationship that allows Skloot to gather some good information from Cootie. How would you describe their interactions? Why do you think Cootie was so willing to speak with Skloot while other people she had met and talked to were not?