Rebecca Skloot, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” is speaking at Lincoln School! “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” now an HBO film starring Oprah Winfrey and Rose Byrne, is the story of the title character, a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells (taken without her knowledge over 70 years ago) became one of the most important tools in modern medicine.

HeLa cells, as they are known to scientists worldwide, paved the way for advancements like gene mapping, cloning, the polio vaccine, and modern cancer medication. Her cells are also extraordinary because they have never died, and more than 20 years after they were taken from her body, Henrietta’s family and friends learned that their mother, wife, sister, and friend lived on. Their lives would never be the same. Come see Rebecca Skloot, a dynamic and critically acclaimed writer, discuss ethics, humanity, race, family, science and how one woman unintentionally changed the course of modern medicine.