The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 2010

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Chapters 29-32Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3: “Immortality”

Chapter 29 Summary

After months of persuasion, Deborah finally agrees to meet Skloot in 2000. Skloot gives Deborah a gift from a Hopkins cancer researcher, Christoph Lengauer. As a tribute to Henrietta and her family, Lengauer has framed a large picture of Henrietta’s cells, painted with multicolored fluorescent dyes. Deborah is delighted with it.

They spend several days together, and Deborah opens up, pouring out all fears, anxieties and painful experiences. It is evident that, because no one has given the family clear information about HeLa and how it is used for research, the family cannot always separate factual knowledge from exaggerated stories they have heard. Deborah even worries that there might be clones of her mother walking around until Skloot reassures her that it is only the cells that scientists have cloned, not Henrietta herself.

Several days of intimate conversation between Skloot and Deborah come to an abrupt end when Skloot expresses an interest in seeing Henrietta’s medical records. Deborah panics and, despite Skloot’s reassurances that she has no bad intentions, Deborah shoots out the door.

Chapter 30 Summary

The next day, Deborah returns. The upset of the previous day is forgotten, and she tells Skloot that her younger brother, Zakariyya, wants to meet her. Having heard much about Zakariyya’s violent temper, Skloot is nervous, but nonetheless wishes to meet him.

Deborah’s two grandsons, Davon and Little Alfred, accompany them on the trip to Zakariyya’s house. Initially, Zakariyya is aggressive and rude, but he gradually begins to tell Skloot about his experiences: how much he missed having a mother in his life, how much abuse he suffered at the hands of Cousin Ethel, and how angry he is at the scientists who took Henrietta’s cells and did not tell the family the truth. As Skloot and Deborah turn to leave, Deborah gives Zakariyya the framed picture of Henrietta’s cells: Zakariyya is moved to tears and agrees to meet Lengauer, who wants to show them the cells in person.

Chapter 31 Summary

This chapter covers events from 2000-2001. Skloot continues to build and strengthen her relationship with Deborah, who emphasizes that she is not after money or revenge; she simply wants to know the full story about her mother and the cells. Skloot promises to be open and honest and not hide anything, and she waits patiently each time Deborah panics and withdraws. Gradually, Deborah’s moments of panic reduce as her trust in Skloot increases. Deborah’s health, however, is in decline—she takes 14 pills a day, and her young grandson Davon is so concerned about her that he decides to stay with her every night.

In April 2001, Deborah is invited to speak at a conference held in Henrietta’s honor by the National Foundation for Cancer Research. She agrees only after Skloot reassures her that this is a legitimate organization. She also decides she is ready to meet Christoph Lengauer, who wants to show the family Henrietta’s cells. A few minutes later, however, Deborah calls Skloot in distress: her son Alfred has been arrested for armed robbery and was taken away in front of his son, Little Alfred.

Chapter 32 Summary

Deborah is determined that Alfred’s arrest will not stop her from seeing Henrietta’s cells. Skloot arranges to meet her and Zakariyya at John Hopkins, where Christoph Lengauer is waiting for them. Inside the laboratory, Deborah and Zakariyya are overwhelmed with emotion at the sight of their mother’s cells. Lengauer is extremely sympathetic regarding the distress and anger they have experienced and agrees with their view that the scientific community has made huge mistakes over the years with regard to its treatment of Henrietta and her family. He gives Deborah and Zakariyya his cell phone number and tells them they can call him anytime they want to ask him questions about the cells.

Chapters 29-32 Analysis

These chapters tell us something about the caring and empathetic way in which Skloot handles the Lacks family, gaining their trust and allowing them to vent their feelings. Deborah initially spends several days pouring her heart out and asking all the questions she needs to ask and, though she panics and runs away when she thinks Skloot is going to look at Henrietta’s medical records, she soon returns, willing to trust Skloot again. Even Zakariyya opens up and expresses his side of the story. Though aggressive, he is also quite perceptive in his own way and, as Skloot’s sympathetic portrait shows, he is clearly someone who has experienced terrible pain.

When Deborah gives Zakariyya the picture of the cells, his tearful response is one of the most moving episodes in the book. As he walks back to his building, “holding the picture in front of him at eye level, seeing nothing ahead but the DNA in his mother’s cells” (249), the reader is made acutely aware of the overwhelming emotional impact that HeLa has had on the Lacks family. This is developed further when Deborah and Zakariyya meet Lengauer and see their mother’s cells first-hand: this is the closest contact they have had with the mother they lost in infancy, and, even more significantly, Lengauer is the first scientist to treat them respectfully and acknowledge that other scientists “screwed up” (266) in their handling of the situation. Once again, Zakariyya’s aggression begins to dissolve: “Zakariyya reached up and touched Christoph [Lengauer] on the back and said thank you. Outside, he did the same to me […] [Deborah] put her arm around me and said, ‘Girl, you just witnessed a miracle’” (267). His comment suggests that Lengauer’s empathy and kindness have healed his negative perspective of the scientific community.