The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Science and Medical non-fiction came to life for members of the Park Grove Library Book Club as we talked and discussed The Immmortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The leader had a question for us when we arrived.  Fourteen of us were at this discussion.

Some members said they had heard of HELA cells but didn't know the history behind it. Others had never heard of this.  Pre-cancerous screening has it's origins in these cells, one person shared.  Another said it is amazing how science has progressed, and now we have genetic testing!  Another said how primitive it was back in '51 -- you accepted whatever it was.  There was a movie about this, some have seen, and a member said it wasn't as much science in it.  They thought the science part was more interesting in the book.  The book was written with the family information, Henrietta's story and then the medical side of it.  They were woven together in the book and someone said, they needed to be told together in this format. 

Rebecca Skloot did extensive research into this, but one member said it was too long/too deep.  The book could have been condensed a bit.  Another said it was hard to get through all the science part of it.

One member said she was surprised at how racist medical field was, they were being taken advantage of.

The family knew so little about what had happened.  One member said she was "surprised by how much abuse all those kids suffered and they survived somehow.  I don't think that was typical for a lot of families." We found the daughter Deborah fascinating.

"There were ethical issues here, so much more than legal issues," someone said.  We talked about how laws has changed over time, looking through this material.  HPPA is one major change now, the need to consent and to inform people.  But, "you don't always know what you consent to."

We talked about using our medical information for "the better cause."  Will we always know what our medical information is being used for. Should it be used without consent?

We spent a bit of time discussing of whether it was right to earn money off HELA cells or any medical procedure.  The family never saw any money from it but some doctors or researchers did. Now many companies make lots of money off it.  How can you forecast the meaning of something down the line?  So many things have changed and were affected by the HELA cells.  We owe Henrietta Lacks a debt of gratitude, and Rebecca Skloot for telling the story.

Bohemian Flats by Marry Relindes Ellis

Finding good, local, historical fiction was the pleasure of our book club.  Many of us enjoy these books, but to find one that shared stories of the Mississippi in Minneapolis truly brought this story to life for us.  Fourteen members were present for this discussion at the Library.

One member said this is one of the top books we have read, a heartwarming historical fiction that left  us as all historical fiction do: learning more.   Another said it was easy to get into -- the characters were so believable and had such depth, they became very familiar.  Again, another person said I learned something that I knew NOTHING about in the Twin Cities, didn't know about "Bohemian Flats."  There wasn't a lot of humor in the story someone shared, but the bananas floating down the river made some chuckle!

One person said they felt the characters and the people of the Flats were like a melting pot, something they grew up with, in her local town, liked how food was shared, and like her town, the richer lived on the other side of town.  Another said the characters were well-investigated and another said well  researched.  A member brought up how the characters left everything they knew when they came here.  The characters felt far safer and loved than what people feel coming here now, a member stated.  Everyone has a story, something pushing them to leave their country.   "Hatred was a luxury that none of us could afford because at some point, every neighbor was needed, every skill contributed."  The novel was rich with history, including artwork discussion of Caravaggio's Raising of Lazarus.

We talked about the two families in Germany -- the Richters and the Kaufman's.   Annalies becomes a nun after Heinrich dies and two of the three sons go to America, one remains.  Heinrich wouldn't allow the girls in the family to go to school, but the boys could and the two, Raymond & Albert went to the Richters for help. They were a much more "open family" someone said.  In the Flats, women were the head of the household.  In Germany, Annalies was not the head of the household, but her husband Heinrich was.  He was hard, someone said, but he did have a conscience unlike his son, Otto.

Magdalena's story line was interesting, as she came from wealth, went through so much change and struggle.  She was welcomed in the Bohemian  Flats by the community.  The community there supported each other, and so different than what she felt in Germany.  Here she was looked at in regards for her wisdom and there she was thought of as a "witch."  Talked about her daughter's "gift" and someone said, "why have a gift if you couldn't do anything about it."

We also talked about Albert & Magdalena's move from the Flats to WI and how they made their home there.

The question was asked who you would like to meet in the book.  Some said Alzbeta as she was the salt of the Earth, another said Magdalena, as she was a helper, was down to earth, even though she grew up rich.

We felt the ending was very hard with Eberhard and then Raymond.  Talked about why Raymond kept that a secret - didn't want anyone to know Eberhard was a deserter. It left some with much sadness and disappointment.

A very good review was written by Mary Ann  Grossman -- click here for the review.  Another article that was found is here titled:  The Bohemian Flats:  "A quaint little village" or den of iniquity.  One more review by Peter Geye was found here

The real Bohemian Flats