Remembering Turner Station's Immortal Henrietta Lacks
A book based on the "immortal life" of a Turner Station native has been named a finalist for numerous national book prizes. As part of Black History month, Patch.com recalls her story.
The history of medicine echoes with the familiar names of people who made important contributions to the field: Louis Pasteur, Alexander Fleming, Marie Curie, Jonas Salk. None made a contribution to medicine as far-reaching or personal as Turner Station's own Henrietta Lacks. Until this year, few people even knew who she was. On a blisteringly hot summer day earlier this year, a small group of people gathered in Turner Station to remember Henrietta and unveil plans for a historic marker in front of the former Lacks home at 513 New Pittsburg Road. Her story was told in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, published last February by Crown Books. Recently, the work was selected as a finalist for the 2010 Wellcome Trust Book…
