Instead of having a regular class this week, we had the privilege of attending a lecture presented by the author of the book we have been reading throughout the semester entitled The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The author's name is Rebecca Skloot, and she is a very credited, educated, and accomplished author and teacher. She was nice enough to come to Fairmont State to be a presenter for our Lecture Series.
Rebecca talked for about an hour and a half and touched on different parts of her book, as well as answered questions that the audience had about the book and her life. She began by noting that she spent a lot of time in West Virginia to write the book, as she had friends that allowed her to stay in a secluded house to have a peaceful place to write. She then talked about who Henrietta Lacks was and why she decided to write a book about her. She would read passages out of the book, and then describe what she had read after she was done. She touched on many subject like Henrietta's family, what made Henrietta cells so special, and how they have changed medicine forever. She also spoke about the ethical issues that were involved in taking and distributing Mrs. Lacks cells.
At the end she took questions from the audience, and had a few words of encouragement for the college student to take advantage of every opportunity and don't give up on what you believe in. Overall the lecture was a success, as I got to see an author I admire, hear about some interesting things from the book that I did not realize while reading, and take some valuable life lessons with me. Rebecca Skloot was very inspiring and I am excited to see what she has in store for the future.
